The New Ganondorf
by RichOverlordSam
Summary: As evil once again encroaches on Hyrule, a new Triforce is chosen. This time, however, Din plans on doing something a little different with her's... Prologue re-written! Plan to do so with the rest of the story was well before updating again. R&R!
1. Prologue

Hey readers! This is the rewrite of the first chapter of this story. Not much different, but most definately way better than the original. Thanks to Kouta Aburame, as always, for beta-reading this before I force it upon you. So, without further ado, _The New Ganondorf!

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_Clang! _The sound of steel colliding on steel filled the throne room of Princess Zelda, echoing off the gray stone walls. Two men stood facing each other near the center of the long hall, swords pointed at one another, eyes locked. The stern faces of past kings and queens looked down at them from the walls, waiting, watching. Golden sunlight illuminated the chamber from long slits in the walls, brightening gallant banners and flags strewn about the ceiling. Dust coated the thick pillars lining either side of the grimy, red carpet beneath the duelists, dancing away as their movements stirred the dormant specks.

Link stopped circling and lunged at Ganondorf again. The Gerudo King parried the blow, then did a quick counter-strike. Link pulled his shield up just before the sword hit him, jarring his unprepared arm.

The fight continued, almost like a strange, deadly dance, each person knowing the other's moves and reacting to them accordingly. Long minutes dragged by; both were relatively unharmed, but both were panting heavily. Suddenly, something whizzed past Link's ear, colliding on the dull wall. He put up his shield before turning to see the intruder.

"Don't worry Link," said Zelda, a bow in her arms, a quiver of arrows on her back. "I'm here to help." Rather than the flowing pink dress she usually wore, she was now in a light blue one-piece suit, with darker blue plates of armor covering her chest, elbows, and knees. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a practical, tight bun. Her icy blue eyes stood out against the pallid shade of her skin.

"Thanks, Zel—Your Highness," he replied, as Ganondorf's sword—the Gerudo Dragon--collided with the shield. She nodded and nocked another arrow to the bow. A golden glow surrounded the arrow's tip, and with every passing second the light grew. Finally, she released the arrow. Link pulled away from Ganondorf and somersaulted back; the arrow hit the evil king straight in the chest. Although the arrow was repelled by the dark-skinned man's armor, not even leaving a scratch, lightning crawled along his body, momentarily stunning him.

"Quickly, Link!" Zelda shouted, "Before the power wares off!" Link rushed at Ganondorf, the Master Sword gleaming in the ironically peaceful sunlight streaming in through the windows. He hacked away at the Great King of Evil, even Gerudo's stamina not able to withstand the power of the sword. Eventually, the pain became greater than the paralysis of Zelda's magic, and he pushed the Hero back.

The king growled and held out his hands. A small spark lit up on each one, slowly growing until they were the size of basketballs. He threw them both at Link, shouting, "Din's Fire!" as they left his hands. Link put up his shield, and the first fireball faded away on contact. He then swung his sword at the second fireball, and it ricocheted off his sword and began hurtling back towards Ganondorf.

Several things happened almost simultaneously after that: Link pulled out his hookshot and shot it at Ganondorf, hoping to pull the king closer after he was stunned. However, the Hero underestimated the power of the spell, and when it connected, Ganondorf flew back. Fractions of a second later, the hookshot caught onto him, and Link began zipping forward behind Ganondorf. The king crashed through a window, and Link followed helplessly behind with twinkling, multicolored glass raining down around them.

"Link!" Zelda cried as she watched him fall out the window. She rushed toward the window and gazed down. Several of the townspeople had stopped doing their shopping, or working, or whatever it was they did and were looking at the two men falling from the castle. No, not falling, Zelda realized, for there was no way they could have fallen the ten stories from her throne room to the lake below. She saw that Link had shot another grapple, and it was snagged on a niche in the brick. "Link!" Zelda called down.

He looked up at her. "Zelda, don't worry…I'll be fine!" He smiled at her, and she could not resist smiling back at him. Suddenly, he began shaking—side-to-side, up and down, barely maintaining his grip on the strange tool. He looked down and saw that Ganondorf was attempting to climb up the chain. Link tried to shake him off, but the demon held on with a superhuman grip.

"I'll help you up, Link!" Zelda reached down and tried to grab hold of the hook, but it was too far. She inched forward, but the hookshot remained out of her grasp. She gave an exasperated sigh, and pulled herself back up. She looked around the trashed throne room (there were gashes on the pillars, her ancestors' portraits were in shreds), looking for something that she could use to grab hold of the hook. Then she saw it: two rapiers hung over the throne, creating an "X" above the crown of the seat. She rushed over, pulled one from the wall, and rushed back to the window.

When she got there, she held out the blade in an attempt to grab the hook. The sword inched closer to the grapple; Zelda tried to stop her hands from shaking. She was so close! And then, fractions of inch away from it, the hook finally slipped from the ledge. "Link!" she shrieked. Many people in the crowd screamed or gasped as they saw Link and Ganondorf plummet down, down, down, into the tranquil, sparkling waters of Lake Hylia.

Zelda was out the door seconds after the hook had slipped. She was unaware of her surroundings; she only knew that she had to get to the Lake as quickly as possible. Her skin-tight blue suit aided her speed, but not much. From outside she heard a splash! She rushed even faster, hoping she could somehow save Link from the watery depths of the lake.

Several stories below, Link was swimming toward the shore. Without Ganondorf. As the people realized this, they began to cheer, for they had finally been saved from Ganondorf's tyranny. Zelda reached the shore as Link was pulling himself out of the water.

"Oh, Link," she sighed, "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Anything for you, Zelda," he replied, and both of them blushed.

"Thank you. Ganondorf is vanquished, and now I can restore peace to Hyrule." Suddenly, a large hump appeared over the waters of the lake. The liquid slipped back into the basin, revealing a large beast.

It was like a dog, a giant dog with red eyes. Its snout was like that of a pig's, though, rather than a canine. Long fangs protruded from its mouth; the great beast gnashed them together. Lastly, it had two horns sticking out the tip of its head, like the beast was a fierce monster in a children's fairytale. It swished its long tail into the lake. A giant wave appeared; the beast continued swishing its tail in the water. The wave grew larger and larger, heading closer to the castle.

"Oh no," Link gasped. He heard people screaming and running in the distance, their hopes crashing down in front of their faces.

"Nayru's Love!" Zelda shouted. The mark on her hand, the Triforce, began to glow. A large diamond appeared around the castle and the town surrounding it. The water crashed onto the crystal, then fell back into the slightly shallower lake. The shield faded away, and Zelda collapsed, her magic totally depleted.

"Zelda…! Zelda, wake up!" Link called. But it was no use; she was out cold. The beast on the lake growled at Link.

He started to rush forward, but something held him back. "Grab the bow," the voice said, referring to the bow Zelda had brought with her. "It has magical powers. Only it can stop Ganon." Link turned, surprised, and saw a fairy floating by Zelda. He grabbed the bow, and ran back toward the shore.

"You must nock an arrow to the bow, and pour your magical energy into it," another fairy said. Link wondered where they were all coming from for a moment before resuming his task. "The arrow will be covered with light and Ganon and can be vanquished."

"We'll give you the strength you need to defeat him," a third fairy chimed in, "The rest of us will try to revive the Princess." The three fairies swirled around him, and he could feel strength return to his body.

"Thank you, and the Great Fairy who sent you," he recited. He nocked an arrow to the bow, and felt a slight tingling sensation as magic flowed out of his body. The weapon gobbled it up, enveloping the arrow with bright light. Link let loose the arrow, it flew through the air toward Ganon, it…

…It missed.

Link scowled and tried again. He nocked the arrow, poured his power into the bow, and released it. It missed once again. Ganon was getting closer now, water was splashing everywhere, and slobber fell from his mouth.

"You only have one more chance," a fairy said impatiently, "Isn't there something you can do?"

Link was about to shake his head no, when he remembered an item he had bought shortly before going after Ganondorf. He pulled out a small mask and put it in front of his eyes. Suddenly his vision was magnified 100 times, maybe even more. Once more he readied the bow and arrow. Light once again enveloped the arrow and he shot at it at the great beast.

This time, the arrow flew true, and hit the beast right between the eyes. It howled in pain and fell into the water. Link rushed at the great beast, pouring magic into the boots Zelda had given him what seemed years and years before. The boots allowed him to walk on water, and even on air. He shot one of his grapples at the horns of Ganon, flying at the beast.

On the creature's back, lightning crept around, the magic left by the arrow keeping him paralyzed. Link unsheathed the Master Sword and looked for a weak spot. He scanned Ganon's back and noticed an eye. He lunged at it with the Master Sword. Rather than impaling it, the sword glanced off. Link tried again and again, but to no avail.

"Use the bow," a fairy said, or maybe it was just a voice inside him this time. He took the bow and tried as best as he could to nock it. Once he was satisfied, he began pouring the last of his magical energies into the bow. Ganon lurched and began moving, probably looking for Link. The Hero steadied himself and held the bow to the eye. He released it, and the Master Sword plunged right into it.

Ganon yowled in pain. Blood splattered from the eye, changing the water of Lake Hylia to rusty color. The beast sank down and began to shrink. Its teeth retracted back into its mouth; Ganon's eyes became their normal color—a golden hazel, maybe tawny; the grotesque tail disappeared. Link pulled the sword out of Ganondorf's back and stayed floating on the water as the king sunk to the bottom of the lake.

"Link!" a voice called. He looked across the great expanse of water and saw Zelda smiling and waving to him. Fairies came out of the lake and began dancing around; a giggle sounded as the Great Fairy of the lake herself appeared to celebrate. From the town, cheers sounded once again. The people knew they were free of Ganondorf's reign. He walked back to the shore as the fairies gave him many blessings and the people of Hyrule cheered for him.

"Link," Zelda said again, "You did it! You saved Hyrule from Ganondorf." She gave him a quick peck on the lips; they blushed and resumed talking.

Unseen by anyone—except for a few fairies maybe—the three goddesses watched the spectacle above the temple in Hyrule Castle Town. One of them turned and sank into the temple, heading to the back to get to the Sacred Realm. She knew what would happen next. It was the same thing that happened every time the Gerudo King revolted.

A scorch appeared on the wall in the secret room. Din tried to calm herself down, but she was just so mad!

After the creation of Hyrule, Din had shared her power with a human. After a few years, Farore and Nayru had found out and had done the same. For many centuries, maybe even a few millennia, Hyrule was peaceful. Then one day the Gerudo decided to mount a rebellion, led by a king with the same name as the one who had just been killed. Ganondorf, the man with Din's power. Link—who had the power of Farore—and Zelda—with the power of Nayru—were able to stop him, but just barely. After a long discussion, the goddesses decided to continue sharing their power with humans, in order to maintain peace. Yeah, right.

Every few centuries or so, the Gerudo would lead a revolt against Hyrule. And every time, the leader was the man who Din had lent her power to. The fiery, red-haired goddess was getting sick and tired of it. It was time for things to change. And she thought she knew how to do just that…

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Intriguing, right? I hope it was. Please review and continue reading! I'll probably be re-writing all of these chapters because I'm coming down with Writer's Block and don't know what else to do. Yet. And seriously... Review!


	2. Leaving Earth Revised

Okay, this is the revised chapter two...or chapter one since the first was a prologue. If you didn't read the original chapter two...well, lucky you. I am now going to be writing in first person, something I only do with short stories. If you read the original chapter one, I suggest reading this since it will probably be much different. Anyway, here it goes:

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_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! _I rolled over and hit the "Snooze" button. The alarm immediately stopped its obnoxious blaring, and I tried to get another fifteen minutes of sleep.

"Jake, get out of bed!" my mom called up the stairs. "You gotta get ready for school." I groaned. I hated how my mom knew all of my tricks. I stumbled out of bed and turned on a light. Although it lit up the room, it was still extremely dim. I ruffled through a drawer in my nightstand and pulled out a notebook and a pen. I flipped the notebook open to a clean page and tried to remember the contents of my dream. In a few a seconds, I was scribbling away. I was good at remembering my dreams, but this one was particularly vivid.

In the dream, there were six people standing in a circle, all of varying shapes and sizes. They were chanting something, but it was hard to make out. After a few seconds of listening, I realized they were chanting my name. "Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake..." Their were voices were as different as their figures and my name soon became indecipherable again. Music was playing in the background. It was extremely simple, but haunting and melodic. I tried to ignore the music and look at the people, but it was impossible. The song was just so...beautiful. I listened to the chanting, wondering if they were words to go with the with the song, completely forgetting that it was my name. Then their voices became one again. "Ganondorf..." they chanted, "Ganondorf...Ganondorf..."

The music changed abruptly. It was now lively and festive. I felt power course through my veins, felt strength pulsing through every muscle. The six people faded away, and a woman appeared. She had red-orange hair, so much like fire that that's what I thought it was for a moment. She wore a beautiful hot pink dress, with something resembling streamers connected to her short sleeves flowing behind her. She gave me a smile, and I felt suddenly very warm. Her eyes were dark, unlike the rest of her, and kind. "Don't worry," she said. "Those six won't dare try to harm you while I'm here. They wouldn't dare go against me." Then my alarm went off.

My eyes scanned the page I had filled with this strange dream. It seemed right; there were no holes in it, no details let out. I glanced at the clock and continued getting ready for school.

Normally, I don't like school. I'm not a very bright student; my grades are usually C's with the occasional low B. For this, the teacher's don't like me. That, or because I simply refuse to try. I have few friends, two maybe, but they're not people I can rely on. I have no idea why this is, though. I guess I'm just an outsider. The only class I like is P.E. I always feel powerful and on top of things in the gym. I do well in almost every sport, and I can lift a lot of weights, too, much to the envy of my other freshman classmates. But today, I absolutely hated school. It wasn't the worst day of my life, but it was certainly the most bizarre.

At the bus stop, a girl dressed in varying shades of blue instantly started talking at me and flirting with me. She grabbed my left hand five minutes into her conversation and looked at my birthmark. It was a triangle with four smaller triangles inside it, and the one on the bottom left was more defined than the others. After looking at it for a few minutes, she dropped my hand and ceased talking. Which, truthfully, was fine by me. I watched to see where she sat on the bus, but she didn't get on. Looking back, I saw...nothing. She was gone.

The day passed similarly; with strange people coming up to me and mysteriously disappearing. In the school library, a woman with blueish-purple hair (yes, I'm serious, it was blue-purple) looked into my eyes, then walked behind a bookshelf and didn't walk back out. A teacher with red hair in the hallway gave me a warm smile similar to the one I had received from the woman in my dream. At the playground where I was watching my little sister play, a little girl dressed in green ran over to me. She began asking me questions about my life, and didn't leave until I rudely asked, "What, are you writing a biography about me or something?" She went down a slide and never came out the bottom.

When I got home, I flopped into my bed and took a deep breath. Today had been so strange, that it seemed almost unreal. I glanced into the mirror to see if I was exhausted and stressed as I felt. My light brown hair, was reddening, even I could see that now. My skin had a light tan color to it, even though it was the middle of October. I had small circles under my eyes, but those could've been from anything. I needed to relax. And I knew the perfect place for it.

Five minutes later, I was wandering the woods near my house. I loved being in here. It was just so tranquil, so serene. Truthfully, I felt that it was almost magical. It seemed untouched by the rest of the world. I didn't know if it was the way the light slanted through the trees, and gave the forest a pale green lighting; or if it was the patterns the falling red, orange, and yellow leaves made on the ground; or if it was the fact that it did seem untouched; or if it was a combination of any of these things. It was just peaceful, calm, and beautiful. I began humming a random tune; soft and slow, haunting and sad...

It was the song from my dream. I stopped humming, but the song kept playing. I looked around to see what was making the noise, but I couldn't see anything. It was then that I noticed that the song was louder in one direction, so I turned left and began to follow. For several minutes, I followed the melody, searching for what was making the noise. Eventually, I reached a small clearing where the music was blaring. I stopped dead and literally gasped at what I saw.

Six people dressed in white, flowing robes stood in a line at the other side of the small clearing. "Ah, Ganondorf," one of the people said.

"Ganon-wha?" I asked.

"Don't play dumb with us, child!" bellowed a large figure. "You know full well--"

"Calm down, Darunia," said the first person who had spoken. "Let him play the fool. In the end it doesn't matter."

"Let's stop with talking and nab the kid already!" a third figure chimed in. "We didn't come all this way for conversation."

"Yes, I agree with Impa," another one said. She had an exotic accent, almost Arabic, but not quite. "We can talk later." A few of the figures chuckled at that. I wondered what was going.

"I disagree, Nabooru," said one of the shorter people. "We should watch him for a little while longer. He may have the marks, and the eyes, but not the personality. Ganondorf would've attempted tearing us to pieces by now. And he's not this good an actor, either." I didn't know who this girl (I could tell it was a girl from the tone of her voice) was, but I liked the way she talked.

"Ruto is right," the smallest person said. "He may share some of Ganondorf's qualities, but not all of them. It's possible it wasn't a Phantom-Din who told us not to take him. Maybe it was actually Her."

"What do you know?" the person who had been interrupted by the first person to talk yelled. He seemed to do that a lot, and his gravelly tone made it scarier. "You're just a kid!"

"I'm also the Forest Sage!" she puffed indignantly.

"Enough!" shouted the very first person to talk. "It doesn't matter what you think because you lost the vote. Let's get this over with." The six people crossed the clearing, two of them following a little more hesitantly. When they reached me, they formed a circle around me and began to hum, clasping their hands together. Regaining my senses, I tried to break free, but they had an iron grip. We began to levitate, and I instantly began panicking.

There was rustling from a nearby tree, and the woman from my dream strode out. Her hair actually was on fire now, and she also had a flame in her eyes. "You Sages think you know what's best?!" she shouted, smoke billowing from her ears and nostrils. "Well, you don't! All of you will pay dearly for defying me! And not just because I'm gonna get you, oh no--" Her rant was cut short as we spun around and disappeared.

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Well, it was revised, but I still think it could've been better. Oh well, I feel much more satisfied with this. Anyway, thanks for putting up with and please, please, **please **review!


	3. Din's Revenge

Hello, readers! In this chapter we once again return to the land of Hyrule. I'm gonna see if you can guess where we are this time; if you can't I have the answer at the bottom. Now sit back, read, and enjoy!

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I slowly opened my, then quickly shut them again. The light, whatever its source, was just too bright. I tried to return to the comforting depths of sleep, but the light and the heat prevented me from doing so. I scowled and tried to roll over. _Cl-clink. _That was strange. I tried rolling over again. _Cl-clink. _Why couldn't I move? I half-opened my eyes and glanced at my arms, my legs. Thick, iron chains bound me to a light brown slab of stone. I fell back and took a deep breath. How had this happened? I wracked my brain, but I couldn't remember anything.

"...he awake?" a small voice asked. It seemed familiar. I thought for a second, and all of the memories came rushing back to me. The six people in the forest, the woman with the fiery hair. _They must've knocked me out, or something..._I thought.

"No," a voice said in answer to the first. "He's still out of it." I opened my eyes just a crack to see what was going on. The six people were standing on a raised platform made of the same stone as my...um...bed. But they were different. I soon realized that were no longer wearing their white, flowing robes or their masks. They stood in whatever clothes they usually wore, watching me.

"He's awake," someone said, "His eyes are open...just a hair." It was a woman with tanned skin and purple hair wearing blue and purple armor. The other five leaned in and noticed what she had seen.

"Ganondorf, so nice--" started an old man in a red robe.

"That's not my name!" I shouted at him.

"Listen, human," snarled a man...made of stone? As I watched him, I realized that he was. "Playing dumb doesn't work on us..."

"I'm not playing!" I retorted. "Wait, that came out wrong..."

"See, Darunia," said a blue-skinned girl, "He's not acting dumb."

"You really trust him?" asked stone-man.

"Why shouldn't I?" she countered.

Stone-man scowled at her and said, "Because he's Ganondorf!"

"But what if he's not?" I could tell she was really beginning to get on the guy's nerves.

"Calm down, you two," the old guy said. "We can fight later..." He held out his palm and a sword appeared in his hands. The other five followed suit, and soon each had a a variety of swords in their hands. They stepped down from the sandstone platform and crossed the ground between us. I struggled against the iron chains binding me to the slab of stone, but I couldn't get free. The people were mumbling and their swords began to glow different colors. The red-robed man quickened his pace, his gleaming white sword held in front of him. "With the power of time, I banish you!" he cried, and thrust his sword out.

I expected a great deal of pain to explode inside my body, but there was none. The sword was inches from my stomach, but not in it. The man looked dumbstruck. All of a sudden, I felt power blossom from within me. I was burning and freezing at the same time, it felt as if millions of insects were crawling along my skin. I struggled against the chains, and this time they broke. The birthmark on my hand was glowing. "You're a fool, Rauru," I said. Or was it me? It sounded like the woman from my dream, the woman in the forest.

"D-Din?" he stammered. "I-is it really Y-You?"

I cackled and held out my hand. "Din's Fire!" A spark ignited on my palm and expanded until it was the size of a basketball. I threw at the man, Rauru. He flew away from me and was caught by one of the six pillars surrounding the circular area we were standing on. He fell away from the pillar along with several chunks of sandstone and landed on the ground with a lot of sickening _cracks. _He didn't get up.

The sages stared at me with a look of shock on their faces. "Who's next?" I asked, but it still wasn't me. Two women with purple and red hair rushed at me. "Ah, Impa and Nabooru. I can't say I'm surprised." I picked up the sword Rauru had dropped when I hit him. It felt strange in my hand--it wasn't heavy, but it was almost like it _knew _it didn't belong in my hands. The woman with purple hair swung at me; I parried, then swung and knocked the blade from its hilt. The woman's mouth literally dropped. "Don't act so surprised, Impa; it is the goddess of power I share a bond with." I pulled back a fist and punched her in the gut. She flew back and tumbled down a set of stairs I hadn't noticed before.

The other woman, Nabooru, was much more careful. She swung, I parried, and she jumped back before I could do a counter-strike. I had to admit that she was graceful, but she wasn't getting close. I crossed the small gap that lie between us and swung my sword around furiously. Her blade was cut in half, and she ran behind the slab of stone in the middle of the circular area before I could do anything else.

"You may be able to defeat Hylians easily, but now you must face the might of a Goron!" shouted Stone-man in his gravelly tone.

"Darunia, are you really that dumb?" I taunted. He rolled at me, not even bothering with his weapon. I jumped and landed on him. I began running as he rolled, and he continued looking for me since he hadn't noticed I was on him. "I guess you are." I began running at a higher speed in the opposite direction. Darunia flew back into a railing. It dented under his weight, but it didn't break.

I looked around the roof. Smoke billowed from where Rauru lied either dead or unconscious. The pillar above him looked unstable; a lot of the rock it was made of had fallen away from time and the force he had hit it with. Darunia sat with a stupid look on his face near the metal railing. Nabooru was still cowering behind the stone slab. I looked at the remaining two Sages. "Ruto, Saria. Thanks for believing me." They nodded dumbly, their swords loosely in their hands, the glow gone. I walked toward an edge of the roof. Sure enough, there were stairs leading down, with Impa sprawled on them.

I bounced down the steps into the darkness with a sense of foreboding. Already, I could feel the power lent to me by Din fading away. And I knew that it was a long way to the bottom.

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I think this was kinda short, but it was all I wanted to do for now. In case my description wasn't good enough, they were on the roof of the Arbiter's Grounds from LoZ: Twilight Princess. Please review, and thanks for reading!


	4. Prison Break

Yay, it's a snow day! That means I can update today! Well, here's the next chap:

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As I walked down the stairs, torches lit themselves and showed me the way. I was glad that I could see where I was going, but at the same time I wished it was still dark. It was a long way to the bottom. Stone fell from the long, spiral staircase as I walked down it, and some parts of the stairs were missing altogether. I gulped and prayed that I wouldn't have to jump it. I held the sword out in front of me. I could feel a presence, but it was probably just my imagination. Right?

I walked down the stair case for what seemed like hours, and it probably was, too. Finally I came to what I dreaded. A large chunk of the stairs were missing, and I would have to jump it if I wanted to keep going. I looked around, hoping beyond hope that there was a rope I could swing on, or an elevator, or something. But of course, all I could see was the sandstone wall with the occasional torch to my right, and a bottomless pit to my left. I stepped back--well, up--and took a deep breath. I ran as fast as I could and jumped.

I grabbed the edge of a stair right before I fell. My sword left my grasp and tumbled to the bottom. I strained my ears to see how long it took to hit the bottom. After a few seconds, there was still nothing. I was able to hoist myself up, and I lay on the stairs, catching my breath. I was still high up, and I just knew that there would be more jumps. I wanted to just stay there and hope it was all a dream and I would wake up with the dream already slipping away. Unfortunately, I wasn't that lucky. I had to get up and keep going, or else I would die. Of course, if I kept going I would probably die.

I went as slowly as I could down the stairs, as if to delay the jumps I would have to make. After a few minutes of walking, I got to another spot where the stairs had fallen away. I looked across, but the next flight of stairs was too far away. I didn't know if I should rejoice or groan. I sat down on the steps and caught my breath. I think I fell asleep, but I wasn't entirely sure. After all, I had know way of telling time. Eventually, I decided to go up to see if there was something I could use to get across the gap.

Another few long minutes dragged by as I clambered up the steps. Then, I noticed that one of the torches on the wall wasn't lit. I'm not sure why, but I pulled the piece of wood from its bracket on the wall. Maybe I was going to light it, or maybe I knew what would happen next. After the unlit torch was out of its bracket, I heard creaking noises come from inside the wall. It was like a bunch of gears and cogs working after years of not being in use. Most likely, that's what it was. A portion of the wall slid up to reveal a hallway branching away from the stairs. I went eagerly, hoping that it was the out. Torches lit themselves as I ran down the hallway, lighting the way. I found myself hoping that there would be a door at the end of the hallway and I would step out and be back at my house, or in the woods, or at school, or...

There was nothing at the end of the hallway, except a small, wooden chest. I felt all my hopes crumble away at the sight of the chest. It seemed so bizarre in this place. A wooden treasure chest at the end of the sandstone hallway. It made no sense at all, but I opened it up. After all what else could I do?

Inside was what seemed like a giant top. This seemed even more bizarre, and it dashed my hopes further. Why couldn't it have been parachute so I could glide to the bottom of the stairs? Ana a giant top? What purpose would that serve. I looked back in to see if there was anything there, but all I found was a piece of paper. It was written a language with a beautiful, flowing script, but it was unlike anything I had seen before. But as I looked at it, I began to understand it. I hoped it would have an explanation of some sort, so I read it.

_Congratulations, explorer! You have found a Spinner. This ancient device can be used to glide over sand, or to scale a wall. All you need to do is press down the button with a foot, and the Spinner will do the rest! If you want to practice, you will need a key to unlock the door to the practice room. Have fun with your spinner, and may it serve you well!_

I couldn't help but feel that the strange note was like a TV ad. But it had told me what the strange device was, and what it could do. I looked into the chest again and found a small iron key. As out of place as it was, I was glad the chest had been there. I just _knew _the "Spinner" would be able to get me out of the building, whatever it was. I looked around the dimly lit hallway, hoping to find a locked door so I could practice using the Spinner, or, even better, find a way out. Sure enough, there was lock on the wall behind the chest. I took the Spinner and unlocked the door.

I was amazed at what I saw. It looked like someone had been building a skate park, but never finished. There were rails a few feet off the ground, and a few went up and down like a ramp. There were grooves on the railings and the walls. The room was lit by four fireplaces in the four corners of the room as well as torches on the wall. To my left was a sign tacked to the wall, written with the same script.

_Explorer, if you have the Spinner with you, then this room shall serve you well. When you press the button on the right with your foot, the Spinner will begin to move, and if you are near one of the grooves on the wall, it will latch on. You can also jump from the walls by pressing the button on the left. This button can also be used to attack your enemies. Try it out to get the feel of it. This rare item will surely help you out. Good luck, adventurer!_

Again, I was reminded of a strange TV ad, but I understood what I was supposed to do. I put the Spinner down by a groove on the wall and stepped on. I pressed the button on the right with my foot, and the Spinner latched on and lurched forward. Surprised, I tumbled off. The Spinner fell out of the wall and fell to the floor. I stood up and tried again. This time, I was able to stay on. The Spinner moved forward by itself, and turned the corners of the room by itself. After turning, a rail began to run parallel to the wall. I pressed the left button and the Spinner jumped away from the wall and caught on the rail.

I played around in the room for a long time, and after a while I began to feel I was a master of all things Spinner. I was able to move on the walls at high speeds, I could jump from rail to rail without falling off, and I could go up and down on it comfortably. When I left the room, it was reluctantly. Wherever I was now, the room had been the first place where I didn't feel threatened by Sages or bottomless pits. But I had to escape. After all, I had two parents and a little sister back home. They were probably wondering what had happened to me. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts about my family that I almost fell off the stairs.

I put the Spinner down and pushed the right button. It caught onto the wall and soon I was zipping down the stairs. The best part was that I no longer had to worry about jumping across the stairs. I just had to keep the button pushed down, and the Spinner did the rest. Five minutes later, I reached the bottom. I had been expecting more, but there was only a large pit of sand. My sword was in said sand with the point down. I felt relief, probably because I knew it wasn't quicksand. I crossed the pit and pulled my sword out of the sand. I looked around the bare room searching for a way out. There was only a ledge, no doors or windows.

I ran at the ledge, my only way out. It was a good thing I did because at that moment a skeleton burst out of the sand where I had been. I didn't notice at first, but more were clambering out of their sandy graves. I swung my sword at the nearest one and fell apart. I grinned, but my victory was short-lived. The skeleton was reassembling itself, and more were popping out of the sand. I swung the sword around frantically, decimating the nearby skeletons and corpses. The sand in the middle began rising, and a giant dinosaur skull popped out. It had injured a few skeletons, but I knew it wasn't a friend.

I grabbed the Spinner and hoisted myself onto the ledge just as some of the armed skeletons poked their swords at me. The giant skull roared, and the skeletons began clambering over each other to get onto the ledge. I ran up a cracked flight of steps, hoping the door at the end was the exit. Of course, it wasn't. It was a large room. I heard the rattling of the skeletons behind me. I hopped onto my Spinner and it latched onto the nearest wall. I was zooming away from the skeletons. I was going to get out, the dead people would left behind...

I tumbled off the Spinner and onto fell down a whole story to the floor below. I looked up and saw that the grooves on the wall had ended, but my foot had kept it going. _Rat-tat-tat-tat. _It was the sound of bones clicking into their joints. A skeleton was five feet way, rotten flesh and torn clothing clinging to the bones. I got up and rushed at it. I cleaved its head off and hacked away at the rest of it. It didn't get up, but more of them were coming from the room above and from the ground near me. Not caring what happened, I attacked them all, and for awhile, I was winning.

The dinosaur skull crashed through the ceiling and roared. More skeletons appeared and assembled themselves. I continued attacking, but there were just too many. I had to get away. _Clunk! _The Spinner fell from the wall and hit a skeleton. I needed a fast a get-away so I hopped on. I pressed both buttons down. Spikes jutted from the Spinner and tore the skeletons to pieces. I spun around the room and destroyed the army of skeletons, looking for the way out. The skull growled at me and strange, robed things came in through the ceiling and walls.

It was at that instant that I realized I had to kill the skull. It was like it was the leader of all the undead things. I saw a crack running down the middle of its forward and a plan started forming in my head. I jumped off the spinner and spun around with my arms outstretched. The sword cut through the assembled skeletons and robed ghost-things. I slashed my through more of them and began looking through the remains of the some of the slain undead. After struggling to survive and looking through a pile of bones and clothes, I found two broaches. I attacked a skeleton that was rushing at me and grabbed a third from its collarbone.

I cut my way through more of the undead army back to the Spinner. I wasn't entirely sure of my plan, but it was the only thing I had. I pinned the broaches onto the buttons of the Spinner. It whirred to life, and I threw at the dinosaur skull. It flew through air and began slicing through its head. The thing roared in what I assumed was pain as shards of bone chipped away from it. It sank to the ground and its hold on the other undead seemed to weaken. They began attacking each other instead of me. I grabbed the Spinner and pulled the broaches off. It was time to make my escape.

I hopped on the Spinner and began spinning away. I was going a little slower, but that was because there were no grooves to latch onto and it wasn't over any sand. Eventually, I had to jump off and run. I tore my way through the rooms of the strange building; side-stepping rats, spiders, and more undead on the way. A door opened as I neared it and dashed down a flight of steps. More of the cloaked ghosts appeared, but I ignored them. I could feel that I was close to the exit.

I left that room and found myself in one that was being filled with sand. I jumped to a small patch of floor, then to another, not trusting the sand to be dense enough to hold my weight. I had to go through a few rooms like that one, but finally I exited the weird. I continued sprinting away as the undead shrieked and howled. The moon was in the sky now. My lungs were burning and there was a stitch in my side, but I kept going, trying to put as much distance between myself and the building as possible. After many long minutes of running I collapsed and slipped into the world of sleep.

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I hope you liked this longer chapter. Please review. After all, reviews cure cancer! Don't you want cancer to disappear? I do...So review!


	5. Some Explanation

I wish I could've updated, but with school and play rehearsal, I didn't have the time. But I will try to update on the weekends, when I have nothing to do. Well, read and review!

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I groggily opened my eyes and sat up. I looked at my new surroundings with a feeling a puzzlement. I was in a tent that seemed to be made of a sort of brownish leather. Sunlight tried to leak into the small space and made it feel warm. I heard someone cry, "He's awake!" and for a second, I thought the Sages had found me. I turned to see who it was, but whoever it was was gone. I stood up to follow her, but when I did, I began to feel dizzy. I sat back on the cot that I had been sleeping on and tried to not feel nauseous.

"Good morning, King Ganondorf," someone said. I turned my head and saw a group of five women standing at the entrance to the tent. One of them was wearing light (like not heavy), pink clothing and had a pink mask covering her mouth and nose. The other women were dressed similarly, except that they wore a sky blue color instead of the pink. All of them had dark skin and some shade of red hair.

"My name's not Ganondorf," I croaked after a few moments. The women all shared a look and began laughing.

"Of course, he doesn't know," said the woman wearing pink. "Shiori!" One of the girls dressed in blue snapped to attention. "I want you to help the King. Do whatever he says and explain to him our customs. We need to prepare for the banquet."

Four of the women left and the girl, Shiori, just looked at me. She looked like she was only twelve or so, unlike the women who she had been with. "So..." I tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. "What's going on?" I asked. Hey, I had to start somewhere.

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled. "Well, it might be a long explanation...Why don't we go for a walk?" I nodded and stood up and we left the tent. The sun beat down and I saw that we were in the middle of a vast desert. Several of the leather tents were standing around and women walked about doing various chores. The one thing I noticed was that there were no men.

"How come there are only women?" I asked Shiori.

"How about I start from the beginning?" I nodded and we began walking around the camp.

"We are called the Gerudo," she said after awhile. "We are a nomadic people. We wander this desert, doing what we need to make a living. We do things like make maps showing all the oases, or making beads, or pottery. We sell them to the others, but other than that we've tried to separate ourselves from the rest of society because we don't like the treatment of women. Men seem to think they are above of us, so we became an all-woman group. When one of the women has a boy, we care for him until he can walk and talk and fend for himself, and then we...let him go..."

"I don't get it," I said.

"We leave them in the desert," she replied. "We don't want the men trying to control us, so we get rid of them."

"Oh, kinda like the Amazons," I said. She gave me a puzzled look. "Never mind."

"Anyway...Sometimes, one of the men comes back. He always has the mark of the Goddesses. Like you."

I looked at the mark I had on my left hand. "Mark of the Goddesses?"

"You really don't know?" she asked incredulously. I shook my head and she sighed. "A long time ago this place--this world--was just darkness. Dark water with a dark patch of land here and there. There's a place called the Sacred Realm. Three Goddesses lived there. They decided to make this world theirs. So, Din, Goddess of Power, sculpted the land; Farore, Goddess of Courage, created people to live on the land; and Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, created law for the people to live by. They had to leave the world, but left something called the Triforce so they could watch over it. For many years, they stayed off the land, but one day one of the boys the Gerudo had abandoned came back. His name was Ganondorf and he had the power of Din."

"Why?"

"She gave it to him. That's all we really know...Well, I think it's because she loved this world so much she wanted a stronger connection with it. Anyway, Farore and Nayru found out, and they did the same thing. They shard their power with one of us."

"One of the...Gerudo?"

"No, one of the people," Shiori replied. She sounded like a parent explaining something simple to a child. "Well, we knew these people were linked with the Goddesses because they had the Triforce on their hand. The mark of the Goddesses. The Gerudo may not like the treatment of women by men, but we knew that the man who came back was special. So we made him King. Kinda ironic, huh?" I nodded my head. "Well for years the Goddesses shared their power, but one day..."

"What?"

"The King of our people wanted to go to war with the other kingdoms. He almost succeeded, but..."

"But what?" I was getting annoyed that she trailed off so much.

"The other two with the mark of the Goddesses--the Princess of Hyrule and the King of the Forest--defeated him. The Goddesses debated about whether they should continue sharing their power with the people, and they decided that they should. And for awhile, it was all okay. But whenever we had a King, he thought of war and making the Gerudo powerful. Only five or six of our Kings haven't wanted to go to war."

She didn't say anything for a moment, so I asked, "How do you know so much?"

She turned to me and replied, "It's common knowledge, really." I began to feel really stupid, but she said, "But I have a secret."

"What?"

She leaned in and removed the mask over her face. "Din talks to me in my sleep." She stepped away and continued walking. She still didn't have her mask on, and I could see that she was really quite beautiful. She had dark skin like all the Gerudo, and her lips were deep shade of red. "Anything else, Ganondorf?"

"That's not my name!" I shouted, hoping I sounded as exasperated as I felt.

"Don't worry," she giggled, "Din told me."

"Then why didn't you tell the others?"

"Well firstly, it's not my place. I'm just a scholar and merchant. And secondly, Din told me to explain our customs to you, and if I told them they would kill you. She wants you understand Hyrule--"

"What is Hyrule?"

"It's what we call this land." I still didn't get it, and she must've noticed because she took my hand and pulled me into one of the tents. She rummaged around in a chest for awhile and pulled out a piece of paper. She layed it flat on a small table. It was a map. "This is Hyrule," she said. "This area is called the Gerudo Desert." Her finger traced a circle around a large area on the eastern edge of the map. "We found you here." She pointed to a small dot on the northern edge of the desert. "The Arbiter's Grounds. It was a prison, and we guarded it. But the castle got its own prison, so ours fell into ruin. Din told me last night that we would find you there."

"What else did she tell you?"

"She told me the Sages were after you because they thought you would want to go to war. She told me that you're not from Hyrule. She told me to listen to Masako. Masako is the leader of our tribe."

"So there are other Gerudo wandering around the desert?"

"Yes. Right now we're headed toward one of our cities." She pointed to another dot in the center of the desert. "You'll be made King there."

"But I'm not the King!"

"I know. Din told me everything I need to know. But, Jake, you need to play along for now, okay?"

"Why?" I didn't want to play along. I wanted to go home.

"Din needs you for something. She would've brought you here, but the Sages beat Her to it. You can trust me."

She walked out of the tent and I followed. I wanted to trust Shiori, but I didn't know if I could. We strolled along in silence for awhile, but eventually I asked, "So what else did Din say?" I had to trust Shiori. What other choice did I have?

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This is probably the most boring chapter in the history of forever, but I needed to explain it all, I guess. I said everything I wanted to say, I think, but tell me if the subject of their conversation jumped around too much. Or anything you did or didn't like about this chapter. The next one will be a billion times better, I promise. Please leave a review!


	6. Unexpected Help

Hey, this chapter will be more action-packed and stuff. I promise! But sometimes I don't keep promises...Oh, well...

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Three days after I woke up in the Gerudo camp, we arrived at one of their cities. There were buildings set up in a more organized manner than the camps were, and strangely, the buildings were made of wood. They varied in size: some were very long and short, others tall and thin. At the center of the city was a deep pool of crystal-clear water. Shiori had told me that it was the largest oasis in the Gerudo Desert. Women lined the streets, and as I entered the town, they all bowed their heads. "All hail King Ganondorf!" they chanted.

I stood at the front of a long line with Masako and a bunch of other women who lead a tribe. Shiori followed close behind me, and after her were the other members of the assembled tribes of the Gerudo. Masako led up me through the town and the throng of people up to a large building made of stone near the oasis. "This is the Spirit Temple," Shiori whispered behind me. We began climbing the long set of stairs up to the temple and at the top we stopped.

"Ladies!" Masako shouted. "Three days ago, my tribe found this boy," she waved a hand at me to indicate who she was talking about. As if it wasn't obvious. "We found him outside the Arbiter's Grounds, and discovered the mark of the Goddesses. The Triforce." The women began whispering among themselves. Shiori made it sound as if everyone knew what was going on, but I began thinking that she was the only one. "As is customary to our people, we shall make him King!" The women cheered and shrieked. We began walking down the stairs of the temple.

"Before we make you king, we celebrate," Shiori explained.

"Shouldn't we celebrate after?" I asked.

"When you're anointed King, they'll want you to declare war," she replied. "There won't be time to celebrate."

We walked into one of the long, short buildings and was thankful for the shade. Women were carrying plates and silverware around to a long table in the room. Masako took me to the head of the table where a large, ornate chair stood. I sat down and Masako took sat to my right as Shiori took a seat to my left. A few women rushed over with trays of food as we took as our seats, and more women filed in to take their places at the long table.

"So...what do I have to do...when I'm king?" I asked, trying to make some sort of conversation.

"Whatever you want to do," Masako replied. "As long the Council approves it."

"What council?"

Masako shot Shiori a look. "You didn't tell him?"

Shiori mumbled an apology and said, "Since we don't like the treatment of men, we have a Council made up of the leaders of all the Gerudo tribes to approve whatever he wants to do. Masako is the leader of the Council."

An awkward silence settled over us as more food and drink were served. I was starving, but I was too nervous to start eating. Shiori had a plan to get me away from the Gerudo, but I didn't like it. Not one bit.

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I lie awake in bed, staring at the full moon outside my window. Part of me wanted to escape the Gerudo: I knew what they wanted me to do, and I didn't want to do it. But part of me was hoping Shiori wouldn't show up. She had told me the day before that Din had helped her to devise a plan. I wondered why Din talked to her and not me. Wasn't I sharing a bond with her or something?

There were two knocks on my door and Shiori came into the room. "You ready?" she asked me.

"No," I replied as I swung out of the bed.

"Too bad." She pulled me to my feet and out the door. We went down the hallway to the stairs and then crept down those as quietly as possible. If one of the women caught us, things would get ugly. Luckily, we made out of the building without alerting one of the sleeping women or the guards. I shivered in the cool night air. The moon shown down and lit up the pool of water.

Shiori dragged me up the steps of the temple and we stood together at the dark entrance. "This is Spirit Temple," she said.

"You told me that earlier."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"What's it for?"

"Throughout history, it's purpose has been very different. It was once a place to pray. Sometimes, it houses a powerful object. A few times, it was used to contain great evil. There were even a few centuries when it wasn't used for anything. But this time, it's gonna be your escape route. C'mon." She went into the Spirit Temple, and I followed her reluctantly.

Torches sprang to life as we entered, just like they had at the Arbiter's Grounds. We were in a large room. It was bare except for at the far end. A statue of a woman was at the end of the room. She looked stern and gentle at the same time. As I walked closer, I began to recognize who it was. "Nabooru," I spat.

"So you did run into the Sages," Shiori said. "This is Nabooru, the Spirit Sage. I understand that you may not like her very much, but she is a Gerudo like I am. She is probably one of the kindest Sages. When she's not with the other five, she often watches over us and keeps us safe..." She paused for awhile then continued, "But now isn't the time for a history lesson. Hold up your hand."

I did as she said and held up my left hand. The mark on it became more defined, and a luminescent Triforce sprang to life on the wall behind the Nabooru statue. "Now what?"

"It should've opened!" Shiori whined.

"It won't open," someone behind us said. "Without the Spirit Medallion." I spun around and saw Nabooru at the entrance to the temple. She looked a lot like Shiori. They both had the same shade of skin, same hair color. Nabooru was a taller than Shiori was, but they could've been sisters.

"Masako?" Shiori asked.

"That's Masako? I thought it was Nabooru." My head started to spin. Everything that happened seemed to be very confusing.

"I am both," she said. "It is my job as Sage of this area to protect the people here, so I became Masako to lead the Gerudo. I didn't think Ganondorf would show up."

"For the last time, I am not--"

"Don't worry. I know that now. I also know that it is my duty to help you to escape here." Masako/Nabooru held up her hands and a beige disk appeared. She strode across the room and put the disk into the hands of the Nabooru statue. A strange mist began to form and swirl around the statue. It became so thick that the statue could no longer be seen. The mist began to vanish and when it cleared, I could see that the statue was gone. "Hold up your hand," Masako/Nabooru said.

I once again held up my hand. The Triforce began to glow on the wall and the wall vanished too. "I can't believe it," Shiori whispered. "My sister is the Sage!"

"Sister?" I didn't want to get mixed up in all the craziness, but I had to ask it anyway.

Masako/Nabooru chuckled. "No, I am the Sage. Masako is...linked to me in the same Jake is linked to Din. Shiori, get back to sleep. You have done your part."

Shiori nodded and began heading back to the entrance of the temple. "Jake...I hope I get to see you again."

I nodded. "Me too, Shiori. You were the first person to really believe me." She blushed a little and left the temple. "So now I need to get out of here."

"I'll help you, Jake," Masako/Nabooru said. "The Goddesses may be using the temple for something. You'll want help."

"Thanks," I replied, and we entered the hallway of the Spirit Temple. I really hoped I would see Shiori again. It would suck if I died.

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I didn't keep my promise...Too bad! Next chapter won't suck because it will be action-y and violent and good! And review please! If you review, I'll give you my trademark culinary sensation: a blueberry muffin! C'mon it's muffin-licious...


	7. A Long Night

Before I begin, I'd like to thank 4th Triforce piece for making me think, and thus making the sure the story does not suck. Well, here goes:

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It didn't surprise me when torches sprang to life on the boring, gray walls as Masako/Nabooru and I walked down the long corridor. An awkward silence hung in the air between us; I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what to say. Luckily, she said soemthing for me.

"What's it like in your world?" she asked.

I had to think about it for a minute. You never really had to describe the _entire _world to someone; maybe how something works or what it does, but that's all. "Well...there's more people, with more cities...and they're a lot bigger."

"How big?"

"A few million people live in some of the larger ones...even in the desert...And the technology is more sophisticated."

"Like how?" She reminded me of a child inquiring about something simple, but taking in the information eagerly.

"Um...there are things like cars and buses and planes that take you somewhere far away in a short amount of time. And we TVs...they're like boxes that show a play. And all sorts of things to cook and clean with...and really tiny things that play music."

"Amazing," she mumbled. "It must be a wonderful place!"

"Sometimes it is...but there always seems to be war...and every day there are things like murders and crashes and rape...most of the technology damages the environment...It can be terrible sometimes." I paused for a moment. I had just realized something I hadn't really noticed before: as perfect as the world might seem, it really isn't all that great. But at the same time, I really missed my old life. I wanted to see my parents, and my sister, my friends, classmates.

"It can be like that here, too," Nabooru said. "Even when Ganondorf isn't around, Hyrule can be a nasty place."

"Yeah...but I still miss it. I wish I could go home."

"Maybe you will. After all, the Goddesses only brought you here because they need you. When you've...fulfilled your destiny, or done your task...they'll send you home."

"Really?" My spirits lifted, I was in high hopes...

"If you don't die first." ...Only to have it all come crashing down.

"Is it dangerous here?"

"It shouldn't be. Unless the Goddesses are using it."

That was great.

"Well...what's it like here, in High-rule?" I really needed to not think of some terrible monster just around the corner.

Nabooru chuckled. "It's a lot different from your world. There aren't many towns at all; some don't even have names. We don't have the technology you have. Maybe some of the same...problems you have, like murders, but that may be where similarities end." We reached the end of the long hallway and began descending a flight of stairs.

"Where are we going exactly?" I asked after another awkward silence.

"There's a secret tunnel that will take you to the edge of the desert. From there, you should be able to get the castle."

"And what then?"

"That's for you to decide."

We arrived at the bottom of the stairs and entered a small room. All of a sudden, the skeletons began popping out of the floor. At the same time, the swirling mist that had made the Nabooru statue vanished appeared. The two seemed to be fighting each other. It was a strange sight. Eventually, the skeletons had disappeared and the mist began fade away.

"What...just happened?" I asked. My heart was pounding against my chest.

"This is the Spirit Temple. When a person dies, their spirit comes here to get to the Afterlife. They remain here if they can't find their way through the temple. Some spirits are stronger than others, some are helpful, some are angry. They should be resting though...for them to act like that..." She gasped and snapped her fingers. "The Goddesses are using the temple!" She crossed the room and I followed behind.

"Is that bad?" I asked.

"Well, if They're using the temple, whatever evil forces exist will be trying to stop Them."

"So it's bad then?"

"Yes!" she said exasperatedly. "Before we move on, you'll need this..." A light appeared and expanded. There was a brilliant flash, and she was a holding a sword. "This sword is called the Gerudo Dragon." It was about two and a half feet long and four or five inches wide. I suspected that it would be heavy, but when she placed it in my hands, it was pretty light. "It was a sword forged for the King Ganondorf I."

"I'm n--"

"You can stop saying that!" she snapped. "I suspect that it was really made for the person who carried the Triforce of Power. No one is able to use it." She turned and looked at the wall. She rapped on it with her knuckles and the wall slid open. "C'mon," she beckoned.

I stepped through the wall into an identical room. It was made of the same stone, had the torches in the same places.

"The temple is a maze," Nabooru explained. "The Afterlife is paradise for those who do good. Those who have done bad deeds have a harder time finding their way. People who tried to be good find their way through easily." I nodded. It may have been a different religion or wahtever, but they had the same basic beliefs of those back on Earth.

We took a few more steps forward and the skeletons began appearing. Flames from the torches lept away from their brackets and joined them. The swirling mist materialized.

"I don't get what's going on," I admitted, although it was probably painfully obvious through my actions.

"Spirits who wish to repent for their sins are probably trying to reach the Afterlife by helping, others may be angry that we're here, and still others may be under the influence of a power that opposes the Goddesses."

"Of course," I said, hoping that Nabooru would stop explaining things to me. They usually brought up more questions and made my head hurt.

The spirits collided. The mist swirled around the skeletons and flames; the fire burned the skeletons; the skeletons swung blindly at everything. "Should we do something?" I asked.

"If we knew who was helping us and who was against us, we should. But we don't, so we shouldn't." The mist dissipated, some of the flames burnt out. The remaining skeletons and fire began advancing. "Nevermind," Nabooru said.

I charged at the small squad of spirits. I didn't know what was happening, I seemed to be unable to control my body. I swung and jabbed at the skeletons, I parried the blows from their own swords. I hacked away at the flames, too, and surprisingly, that worked. Soon, the room was back to its boring self.

"Amazing," Nabooru said again. "You really are linked with Din." She strode over to another wall and it slid open. "Just a few more rooms."

The next room was a little different. There were two sets of stairs--one going up, and the other down. A hallway on the right led away to who-knew-where. A thick fog had engulfed the room, but skeletons came from the floor. I sighed and began my assault on the skeletons. They fell to my blade, and I got away without a scratch. After all were slain, I followed Nabooru upstairs.

We continued making our way through the temple. The rooms varied more as we moved along, and the enemies became tougher. But even so, I managed to stay unharmed and get rid of all the enemy spirits. I began to feel invincible and confident rather than scared. After a few hours, we entered a room with hallways leading off in almost every direction. Stairs were in each of the four corners, leading up or down. Nabooru stood in the center of this room and spun around slowly, as if she didn't know what to do next.

"I'm not sure what we should do next," she said. Of course.

"Well, I don't know what to do."

She continued making circles, trying to find the hall or stair that would lead us out of the temple. After a moment, she walked up to a wall and knocked on it. The floor began to sink down. I began freaking out, but then I realized that it was making a stairway. It spiraled downward, lost to a black abyss. "Found it!" she exclaimed. I began walking down the strange stairwell as it continued sinking, keeping a hand the wall so that I wouldn't fall. "Damn those Stalfos!" she shreiked. I looked up and saw the skeletons advancing toward Nabooru.

"Hold on, Nabooru!" I called. I began sprinting up the stairs two at a time, gripping the Gerudo Dragon tightly. I lept at the nearest skeleton, or Stalfos, or whatever. The sword bashed into the thing's skull, it fell apart and didn't get back up. I continued my assault on the Stalfos, but more kept on appearing.

"That's it!" Nabooru shouted. Everything froze, including me. Her voice was covered in anger, but there was something else...power. I looked back to see if she was okay.

She was levitating a few inches off the ground, the strange mist swirling around her. Her hazel eyes reflected the anger and power her voice had had. She...roared? Yes, she actualy roared, and the Stalfos began to tremble. Two short swords appeared in her hands. Each was about two feet long and three feet wide; golden light reflected off them. She charged at the cowering Stalfos. The disintegrated with the slightest tap of her twin swords. I felt powerless as I watched her attack the skeletons. But no matter how many she attacked, more seemed to appear.

_Din, _I thought, _if this isn't some sick dream, I could really use You right now. _After I thought these words, I felt the power that I had felt in the Arbiter's Grounds. "Din's Fire!" I yelled. A spark appeared on the end of my sword, it grew and launched itself at the enemy. It hit a Stalfos and it burnt to a thin crisp along with those around it. Nabooru and I hacked away at our foes, but for every one we killed, two appeared in its place.

"Jake," she finally said, "Get out of here!"

"But--"

"Just go!"

I hesitated for a moment, then gave in and began descending the spiral stairs again. After I had gone down a few steps, the ceiling above me closed. I was in total darkness. I was thinking about knocking on the ceiling to get Nabooru's attention when torches sprang to life, from the top down to the bottom. Looking down, I could see that it was even longer than I thought it was. And even though there was light, I was getting nervous and scared. Without Nabooru, I had no guide, no companion. I was alone.

It was going to be a long night.

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I'd like to thank 4th Triforce piece one more time. You're ideas have really helped me without with this chapter. If anyone is interested, I drew a (pretty bad) map of the Hyrule in this story. Tell me in a review or PM if you would like me to e-mail it to you. And review even if you don't want the map. Reviews...I dunno, just do it! One last thing, the spell check isn't working right now, so I know the chapter is riddled with spelling errors. I'll fix it later...maybe.


	8. Meetings with Royalty

It's another snow day, so here's the next chapter:

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My descent down the spiral staircase was uneventful. It had taken a few hours to get to the very bottom. I kept hoping that Nabooru would appear from above to help me, but I was alone. I held my sword at the ready at all times, afraid that something would appear to attack. But there was nothing. Just myself and the smooth walls.

At the bottom of the stairs was a long hallway. I tried to see how far it stretched, but the farther away it got, the darker it became. I wanted to wait for Nabooru, but I knew she wouldn't be coming to help me. I had to continue alone. I took a few tentative steps down the long hall; the torches sprang to life and cast flickering shadows on the walls. I began to wonder where I would appear when I got to the end of the long tunnel. Would more Gerudo find me? I hoped not. I just wanted to get home, to see my family. I even missed my annoying sister, Vicky.

Mist seeped out of the cracks in the floor and the walls. I went into panic-mode, the Gerudo Dragon held at the ready. The mist swirled around me. I tried to hack away at it, but it was just fog so I couldn't slice through. My feet left the floor and I realized the mist--the spirits--were carrying me...somewhere. Suddenly, I jolted forward. The unchanging corridor zoomed past. There was no wind, but my hair flew back. I wanted to attack, or puke, or do something,but I couldn't do anything. So I just let the spirits take me away.

I didn't know how long it took to travel, but it took at least another two hours. Even though I had no idea where I was going, I was glad I didn't have to walk all that way. Finally, the spirits set me down at the end of the hallway. I was dizzy and nauseus, but after a few moments, I was steady. The mist was aleady dissipating. I looked around the the space: there were walls on three sides, but nowhere to go except the way I had come. I spun around and noticed a ladder on the wall.

I was about to climb up when I realized I had nowhere to put my sword. Nabooru hadn't given me its sheath, and I was no longer wearing the clothes I had arrived to Hyrule in, so I couldn't put it through a belt loop. I heard footsteps. Instantly, I froze. Was it a bad spirit or Nabooru? I had no way of knowing until whoever it was stepped into the light around me. _Please be Nabooru, _I thought, _Please, please, please, please! _

It wasn't Nabooru. It was a man. He was about six feet tall and had on magnificent armor. He had dark hair and pale skin. He seemed almost like a king: I supposed it was the way he stood up so perfectly straight and walked gracefully. He looked around, as if he was lost. He looked at me, almost as if he had just noticed like I was there. "Hello," he said. I didn't answer. "Don't worry, you're among friends." He held up his hand. The Triforce burned on it brilliantly.

"Who are you?" I managed to ask.

"King Ganondorf XII." I pointed my sword at him and he chuckled. "Don't bother, I'm dead. And besides, I'm here to help."

"Why?" It all seemed too good to be true.

He didn't answer, just looked around the corridor. "I want to get to the Sacred Realm," he finally replied. "Even if I have to help someone working against what I want." He unsheathed his sword, the same one I was carrying. "You'll need everything I'm about to give you," he told me.

Mist crept toward me from the wall and began to circle around me. When it drew away I was no longer wearing the light (again, like not heavy) black and deep purple clothes Masako had given me. Instead, I had on armor like the dead king standing before me, even though mine was really only a breastplate and the piece that protected my thighs and knees. It looked like obsidian or whatever its called and reflected the light of the torches. I had on a brown-red shirt under it, covering up the chain mail that stretched to my wrist. I also had on tight pants of the same leathery shade. I had on brown gloves that ended at my finger so I could still move them freely. A scabbard hung from my waist, and I sheathed my sword.

"Now you look like a king," the spirit said. I watched as he faded away and then disappeared altogether. I turned and climbed the ladder, hoping the exit wasn't far away.

A few minutes later, I hit my head on something. I put up my hands and felt that it was made of wood. I pushed it and opened, allowing sand to spill into the secret passage. I scrambled out and looked around. I was once again in the desert, but close to the edge. Tall grass shot up in random spots, and there were one or two shrubs as well. A town was only about a mile or so away.

I made my way toward the town, the sun beating down hard. I realized that I had been in the temple all night and began to feel hungry. I didn't have any money, but I hoped I could get some food. As I entered the town, I saw that it was similar to the other one I had been in. The buildings were varied in size, but set up in a very organized manner. I also noticed that it was mostly women who walked around, although a few men made their way through the throng as well. I began making my way through the crowd, hoping to find something to eat.

"There you are!" someone exclaimed. An armored man rushed over to me. "What did you think you were doing?" he asked me.

"Uh..."

"Just follow me. And don't slip away this time!" I stood where I was as the man walked away. He turned around and grabbed my arm, forcing me to come with him. He tok me to the edge of town, where other men were loitering. "I found him, Your Majesty," the man said and bowed.

It was then that I noticed there was a woman with the men. She had blonde hair and wore a flowing pink dress. She looked at me and I could see she had a golden circlet on her head. Her eyes flashed for a fraction of a second, as if she suddenly knew something, but then it was gone. "All right then," she said. "I guess we should head back to the Castle."

The men and the woman hopped onto a horse. I quickly did so, too, hoping that no one would notice I didn't belong, afraid they would attack if they figured out I wasn't one of them. The men--who, I realized, were bodyguards--formed two parallel lines on either side of her. They all kicked their horses and they rushed forward. The slowed down a bit, and soon she was next to me. "Hello, Jake," she said. "Welcome to Hyrule."

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I really hope to update soon, so I probably will. Please review! And once again, the spell check isn't working, so don't tell me that there are spelling errors everywhere.


	9. Finding Purpose

I'm gonna get right to the story, so here it is:

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A million questions buzzed around in my head. Well, they had been all day. The princess or queen or whoever she was kept me quiet for the entire three hour trip. I had wanted to say something, anything, but she would always give me this look that made me keep my mouth shut. But finally, we had arrived at some castle, and she had taken me to her room.

I knew she was some sort of royalty, so I was surprised when I saw her room. There was a canopy bed in one corner of the room, a bookshelf, a table, and two chairs. That was it. She took a seat at the round table and motioned for me to sit down.

I didn't know which questions I wanted to ask, and they were all coming out in jumble. "How are you--I mean, who did you know my name--I mean--"

"Calm down," she said. "Take a deep breath." I did as I was told and took a deep breath. "You okay?" I nodded my head and she continued. "I am Princess Zelda, the leader of Hyrule. I'm also the keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom." She pulled a white glove off of one of her hands and showed me the Triforce there.

"So you're like me?" I asked.

"Sort of...I have different...How do I put it...? I have different abilities."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...do you know about the Goddesses?" I nodded. "Then you know they have a connection with certain people. Good, good. Well, I'm connected to Nayru the same way you're connected to Din. I share some of her powers...and one of those powers is that I know who someone is, without really knowing them. Get it?"

"Um...no."

"I know...people's intentions, their thoughts and feelings. Like I can see their aura. And I know you share a connection with Din because I can feel power radiating off of you."

"I still don't get it," I admitted.

"I don't think you can until you've experienced it. But I know things about you. I know that you're not Ganondorf, even though both would share a bond with Din. And I know that you're not a Gerudo, or even a Hylian."

"So why are you telling me this?" I asked. "I already know that I'm not Ganondorf or a Hylian."

She looked out a small window on the walls of the room before answering my question. "I needed you to understand that I know things. You haven't told me any of the things I know about you. But I know. I had to tell you so you would believe me when I told you..."

"Told me what?" I asked a little reluctantly.

"Something is happening to Hyrule. I don't really know what's happening, but it's bad. You have to believe me. I need you to help me contain the evil."

"Why me?" I asked, hoping that anger was creeping into my voice. "Maybe I don't want to help you!"

"Jake--"

"No! I don't want this. I want to go home. I'm just a kid! Find someone else to help you. Let me get back to my life! Let me go back to my world, my home, my school, my friends. I'm not some hero, I'm just a school kid. I'm nothing special. And I don't belong here! You can see that! I'm not helping you, and that's final." It was like everything I had thought since arriving had been let out. I felt kinda bad, but I knew I had to say it.

"Jake," Zelda said, "You are 'some hero.' I need you. Hyrule needs you."

"No! I'm just...I'm just a kid, okay? I...I'm just an average kid, with an average family. I'm not special. I get bad grades in school, I suck at sports. If you need someone, get some tough guy. There are plenty of people like that where I come from. Find someone else to fight your battles for you! I'm not doing it."

Zelda was silent for a long time. She just sat there and stared out the window, and I looked at her. "I'm disappointed Jake," she finally replied. "But if you think you are just a kid...then I have to respect that. Come with me." She strode out of the room, I followed behind her.

"You mean you're really sending me home?"

"I don't want to...but yes, I am. I'll find someone else. Sorry...sorry that I made you do this."

Neither of us said anything after that. Zelda made her way through the mazes of hallways and staircases, and I simply wondered how she didn't get lost. Finally, we stepped out into the bustling city. People were wandering around doing their shopping, talking, putting on shows. A few bowed or curtsied to Zelda, and she would smile or wave. People moved out of her way as she moved along, making it easy to get through the crowd. Finally, she turned toward a building. It was about two stories high and was made of marble. A red carpet led up to thick, wooden double doors. Zelda pulled one open and ushered me inside.

"This is the Temple of Time," she said without an emotion.

"Another temple?" I groaned.

"Relax, this one isn't like the others." The carpet led up to an altar covered in dust. Light came in through windows high up on the walls. Zelda made her way toward the altar and I followed. "Show the Triforce." I held up my hand and the Triforce painted on the wall shimmered. The wall faded away and I made my way forward. "Good-bye, Jake," Zelda said. Then she was gone.

* * *

I blinked several times. There had been a brilliant flash of light, and now black spots were dancing in front of my eyes. I looked around, trying to find out where I was. There were trees everywhere. I reached for my sword, but it wasn't there. I looked down and saw that I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I realized then that I was home. Finally, I had gotten back.

When I got home, I saw that it had only been ten minutes since I had been whisked off to Hyrule. I ran up to my room, hoping to take a long nap. After all, I had only slept two or three times when I was in Hyrule. I shut the door of my room and glanced in the mirror, and did a double-take. I was so different. Before, my hair had been reddening. Now it was a light brown. My skin was pale; before it had been a light tan. I blinked a couple times and rubbed my eyes. When I was done rubbing my eyes, I looked at my hands. My birthmark, the Triforce, was gone. It felt like part of me had disappeared, but there was nothing I could do about it.

So I went back to old life. I went back to school. I tried harder than I usually did. My teachers were surprised and pleased. My friends thought I was sick, but I was just glad to be back. I tried being friendly with everyone, even my kid sister. It was great to be home again. But still, I felt like there was something missing. I found myself going back to the woods every day. I would just stand or sit, like I was waiting. Nothing ever came.

My life was better than it had ever been before. I was finally getting good grades, I had tons of friends instead of two, I was getting along with my family. It was the life I had always longed for, and even parts of it that weren't so great I was thankful for. My parents were glad I wasn't like most moody teens.

That went on for a month. The best month of my life. But everything changed in one night...

_I looked around. The only thing visible in the infinite darkness surrounding me were two other peole. One had blue hair and wore a flowing, blue dress. The other woman was the same, only she wore green and had green hair. They nodded at me, and I nodded back. We all held out a hand, and three specks of light appeared. They grew larger and formed three trinangles. The triangles connected and became the Triforce. The three of us stepped forward and the light expanded._

_I could see that were in some sort of jail. There were four walls, and bars were spaced in random patterens. Some were small spaces, others were big. The cells stretched up and down forever. The walls began moving up and up, the cells whizzing by. Finally, the slowed down and came to stop. There was a single cell. It was dark beyond the bars, but I could hear a faint rustling._

_"Kofuzen!" we called. The darkness rippled and faded away. A child huddled on the floor, his knees up to his chest._

_"What is it?" he asked. "You're not going to hurt me, are you?"_

_"Give it up Kofuzen!" the blue-haired girl called. "We won't fall for your tricks!"_

_"It was worth a shot," he said. He then transformed into a man. He had short, black hair and wore loose pants and a tunic. "What is it you want?"_

_"Just checking up," I said. But it wasn't me. The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. _

_"You ladies know I won't cause trouble, don't you?" he asked._

_"Of course not," green-head said. "Let's continue."_

_"Not so fast!" the man cried. He put his hands to the bars--I could see thick chains around his wrist--and closed his eyes. The bars began steaming, then they started to melt._

_"How is he doing that?" I shouted._

_"He broke the chain!" blue-head yelled._

_The man stepped out. He had a wicked smile and his eyes gleamed malevolently. "Freedom!" he shrieked. We all rushed at him, but something held us back. He began to disappear in a swirl of balck smoke. Before he disappeared completely, he laughed. It was a cold laugh and sent shivers down my spine. _

I sat up in bed, panting heavily. Suddenly, I knew what was missing. I didn't have a goal, a reason to be where I was. But in Hyrule, I did...

"I have to get back," I whispered. "I have to get back..."

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Even though it was vague, I hoped 4th Triforce piece is at least a little bit pleased with my semi-description of Jake's life. I fixed some spelling mistakes, but I still didn't get most of them, so dont't tell me about my atrocious spelling. But still review! 


	10. Getting Back

Here it is, the next chapter. Please review!

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I was back in the forest; the place where I had first been whisked off to Hyrule. I knew now that it was in danger, that I should be there. But how? I had none of my powers left, so I couldn't use them to get back. Was there a place like the Temple of Time in Indiana? I doubted it. I kicked the dirt in frustration. I was stuck on Earth, Hyrule was forever closed to me. I wanted to punch something, beat something to a bloody pulp.

Warmth, flowing through my body instead of blood. What was it? I glanced down at my hands, as if they were the answer. And in a way, they were. The Triforce was reappearing on my hand. The mark was appearing as if it were being drawn by an invisible artist. A small glow came from the lower left triangle, the warmth continued to rush through me.

Instinctively, I knew what to do. I put my hands together, like I would if I was going to pray. I felt the warmth seeping away from body; saw the glow leap away and begin to form something else. Wind rushed around me, blowing leaves around in random swirling patterns. I heard music in the background; that slow and melodic tune that had sort of been the start of my adventure. And then all of a sudden, it stopped. All of it stopped. The wind died down, the glow faded away, the warmth was replaced with the chilly November air. I opened my eyes, which I hadn't realized I had closed.

There was a door. I had not been expecting a door; I hadn't known what to expect, really. It was a simple, wooden door. The Triforce was scratched onto it, signifying where it led. I tentatively pulled the door opened. I saw the forest on the other side, but stepped through anyway.

As soon as I was across the threshold, the door swung shut behind me. The forest was being pulled away, but I stood still--or perhaps it was me that was moving while the Earth kept on with its normal rotation. Then the world was gone, and I was floating through space. But everything continued moving, or I did, or whatever was happening was still happening. I saw a faint light; it could've been a star, but it was coming straight for me. The light grew larger and larger and then it enveloped me, blinding me.

It died down and I saw that I wasn't in Hyrule. I didn't know where I was. The floors were a pale, almost luminescent white, the walls the same. The Triforce was painted on the ground, shining brilliantly against the whiteness. "Jake?!" someone called behind me. I turned and saw two other people. One of them was Zelda, the other a boy dressed in green who I had never met before.

Zelda ran at me and hugged me tightly. "You came back! I knew it, I knew it!" She let go of me and brushed herself off. "You are back right?"

I couldn't help but smile. "I'm back," I said.

The Princess squealed in delight, then quickly regained her composure. "Does he know what's happening?" the boy asked, stepping forward. He had blond hair like Zelda.

"I had a dream--" I started.

"What happened?" Zelda asked. I told them my dream and how Kofuzen had escaped. Zelda and the boy looked at each other. "We had the same dream," she said.

"What does it mean?" I asked. "I don't know anything about dream interpretation..."

"That actually happened," the boy said. "We saw what was happening here, in the Sacred Realm, from the view of the Goddess we share a bond with."

"We have to get back!" Zelda exclaimed. "Hyrule's fate is in our hands!"

"Great," I mumbled, following behind Zelda and the boy. The stood in the center of the Triforce--the upside-down triangle--and disappeared. I followed suit.

I was falling--no more like sinking because falling was faster--through the air toward an unknown fate. Would I land in Hyrule, or on Earth? My feet touched the ground, and gravity took its full effect. I looked around, taking in the carpet, the altar, the dusty air. I was in the Temple of Time.

I was back.

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It may be a little short, but it's all I feel like doing at the moment. I may or may not update later, it all depends...Reviews are much appreciated!


	11. Ordon

I actually have something to say this time: For those of you who are interested, I have a future fan fictions section in my profile. It simply shows the stories I plan on uploading and the order they should be expected to appear in. It's underneath the Updates, so you'll need to scroll down for awhile. Okay, here's the next chapter:

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"Jake, you're really back!" Zelda cried. She was standing at the exit of the Temple. "I almost thought it was an illusion or something..."

"So what's going on?" I asked.

The joyful expression on Zelda's face fell. "Follow me," she said, and left. I followed behind her, and we began making our back to the castle, the people parting as they had the last time I was in Castle Town. When we entered the castle, Zelda began talking again. "You know how the Goddesses created Hyrule and then left to go back to the Sacred Realm, right?"

"Yeah, Shiori told me."

"Who's--Nevermind. Well, they're not the only...beings that occupy the Sacred Realm. There are other gods and goddesses and entities and so on and so on living there, too. Some are like the Goddesses, and some...aren't."

"How do you mean?" I asked. We were back in Zelda's room now, and I took seat without waiting for her to tell me to do so.

"Well, the Goddesses have enemies and rivals. One of their rivals is Kofuzen. They locked him away in the far reaches of the Sacred Realm because he was powerful and dangerous. That dream we had...we saw, through eyes of Din, Nayru, and Farore, respectively, Kofuzen escape. It's our duty, as the holders of the Triforce to stop him ."

"So what's your plan?"

"We need the last part of the Triforce, then we can go on."

"Who's the last piece of the Triforce?" I asked. It seemed all I ever did was ask questions.

"The boy you saw in the Sacred Realm. His name is Link." She was rushing, as if we only had minutes to stop Kofuzen or whatever. "I'm not sure, but I think he lives in or near the Kokiri Forest. I need you to get him for me; I have to continue doing my duties as Princess here."

Before I could ask, "Where's the Kokiri Forest?" Zelda was rummaging through a chest at the foot of her bed. A few moments later, she had a map spread out on the table.

"We're here," she said, and pointed to a picture of a castle near the center of the map. "Link is from the south, near the forest. At least, he was dressed that way. He probably lives in Ordon." She pointed to a small dot on the map at the edge of a large forest that dominated the south of Hyrule. "He didn't look like a Kokiri; he was too tall."

"So, I have to go to Ordon and get Link?"

"That's all for now...Go!" She ushered me out of her room and closed the door.

"Here goes...well, a lot by the sound of things," I grumbled.

* * *

Getting to Ordon took almost a whole day; I had to spend the night in a small town near a river. I hadn't noticed at first, but when I arrived back in Hyrule, I had on my armor, I had my sword, and I had a bag of money. It felt almost good to be carrying the familiar weight, and I was actually content, even though I was on an important mission.

Ordon was really farm land. There were acres of fields with a bunch of different crops growing in them. There were only a dozen houses, and probably about 40 people. I was pretty sure that were more livestock than there were humans. As I entered the small village, the people immediately noticed. The men looked at me almost fearfully, the children opened their mouths in awe, and the women hugged the children to their breasts, almost as if to protect him.

"Who are you?" one of the men called. "What are you doing here?"

"My name is Jake. I'm on a mission given to me by Her Royal Highness Princess Zelda herself," I replied, reciting the words Zelda had told me to say right before I left.

The men continued looking at me fearfully, but there was doubt on their expressions as well. "Well, what is it you gotta do?" the same man asked. He had on a loose tunic and pants, as did most of the men and boys. He had dark hair, like everyone else. His face was streaked with dirt, as were his hands and bare feet.

"I'm looking for a boy named Link."

The people all shared glances with each other, the women began murmuring. "Come with me," the man said.

I followed him into the biggest house in the village. The man locked the door and pulled down the shades on all of the windows. "What is it you want with Link?" the man growled.

"The Princess wants Link. It's a classified mission." Zelda had told me to say this as well.

"Listen, kid," the man said quietly, almost in a whisper. "I know things, and I could probably guess what it is you want with that boy." I said nothing, so the man continued. "I know that he has a piece of the Triforce."

I couldn't help myself. My mouth opened a little in surprise; my eyes became wider. Then I resumed my normal expression. It had all happened in less than a second, but the man saw it.

"So I was right," he mumbled, almost to himself.

"How...how did you...?"

"My name is Kenichi. I'm the mayor of this village. I've known most of these people for their entire lives. I know more about some of them than they do. Link was one of those people..."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Link was not born to this village, as the people think. I found him in the creek, in a little basket with a note attached. His mother couldn't keep him, she had to kill him. She put him in the river, hoping someone would find him. I took him in as my own, along with my daughter Ilia. A few weeks ago he began asking about he birthmark he had. It was the Triforce, you know. I told that I didn't know much about it. A few nights ago, he woke up screaming. He told me Kofuzen was out. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I knew it had to do with the Triforce. So I sent him into the Forest, to find the Great Deku Tree. That was probably the dumbest thing I ever did."

"Why?" I asked. I was absorbed in the story. Nothing like this ever happened on Earth, or even in Hyrule as far as I knew.

"This forest is sometimes called the Lost Woods. It's very easy to get lost and never find your way out. Link is probably dead now. Things come out at night, so even if he wasn't lost, he got found by something and was...was..."

Kenichi began sobbing, his face buried in his hands. I wanted to do something, but I didn't know what to do. He continued crying for a few minutes, and then I knew what I had to do. "I'll find Link," I said. Kenichi looked up me in surprise; it was a strange expression: his face was messy from the dirt and tears, and his eyes were wide and his mouth was opened. I was a little surprised, too, but I knew it had to be done.

"You'll die in there," he said. "Even if you are part of the Princess' Guard."

"No I won't," I replied. I pulled off the glove on my left hand and showed him the Triforce. The surprise increased, as did the size of his eyes and open mouth.

"Thank you," he said, and tears of joy began welling up at the corners of his eyes. "Thank you."

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That's all for now, folks. Please leave a review, and keep reading the story!


	12. The Kokiri

Sorry I haven't updated in a few weeks; I've been super-duper-uber busy, and haven't had time for much of anything, let alone this. Anyway, it has come to my attention that a few people are confused about the geography of Hyrule. This is because it is NOT the same Hyrule from any game. It is MY OWN version of Hyrule, inspired by Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time. If you really would like to know where everything is, ask for a badly-drawn map in a review or PM, and I will e-mail it to you. That's all for now. Enjoy the story! 

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The next day, I stood at the edge of the vast forest, preparing myself for whatever lurked inside. The villagers weren't farming, choosing instead to see me off. Kenichi made his way through the small crowd and cleared his throat. It seemed like this was the most exciting thing that had happened to the people. I had only been in Ordon for about a day, but I figured that it probably was.

"Jake...you haven't been here long, and we don't know you well but...we want to thank you. None of us have the courage to enter the Forest, but you decided to go in for us. So, we would like to present to you...this." Ilia moved forward, dragging a trunk behind her. Kenichi opened the trunk and pulled out a bow. The villagers oohed as he presented it to me. "This is the Fairy Bow," he said. "A gift from the Kokiri. We want to give you this to show our gratitude." Ilia handed her father a quiver filled with arrows and he handed it to me. 

"The Forest is dangerous," he said more quietly, "Beasts tend to lurk in the shadows. Use this to get rid of them without getting close. And remember this: The Kokiri are mischievous, but they try to help people who are lost in the Woods. Pay attention to small things, because they're going to try to bring you out of the Forest." 

He turned back to the small throng of villagers. "And now, my fine people, we must wave good-bye to Jake and pray to the Goddesses that he and Link return safely." The villagers waved to me, and a few clapped or cheered. 

I turned and entered the forest--or Forest, since the villagers seemed to think of it as a place rather than just a forest. It was like stepping into a new world. The trees were thicker and taller than those back in my own world, even where I was on the very edge.It wasn't dark like one would expect in a such a large place, and the light was even relaxing. Birds chirped above and squirrels darted up and down trees, searching for nuts. It was actually very peaceful, which was the last thing I had expected after Kenichi's description of the horrors of the Wood. 

I strolled through, enjoying the exotic plants and shrubs that occasionally grew near the trees. I almost forgot about my mission, and I was actually enjoying myself when something caught my attention. 

Music. It was music. It was lively and catchy; I wanted to drop everything and dance, or maybe even search for the source. I turned and began following the music, and then I remembered what I was doing. Kenichi had warned me about this sort of thing. I figured that Kokiri were trying to get me to safety. I began heading in the opposite direction, listening to the music becoming fainter. It seemed to become more frantic as I continued to ignore it. I was tempted to give up the mission; it was as if a spell had been placed on me.

I nocked an arrow to the bow, knowing what to do since I had practiced archery before on Earth. I shot the arrow, hoping that the mesmerizing music would stop. It did stop, but I instantly hoped that I hadn't hurt the Kokiri who was playing it. The music didn't start again, so I continued going in what I hoped was the right direction. 

I noticed some weird tall grass or some weed that I hadn't seen before, so I figured I was going in the right direction. I took a few steps closer, than a plant shot of the ground! It lunged at me, and I took a step back. It missed by a few inches, held back by its own stem. I fumbled for my sword, and lashed out at the strange plant. I cut it roughly in half, and it fell to the ground and quickly withered away. I quickened my pace and hoped I wouldn't run into any more strange plant-things.

_Pfft!_

Something hit me in the stomach, and I doubled over. I looked on the ground and saw a large nut of some sort.

_Pfft!_

I looked ahead and saw a tiny ball thing with leaves on its head. Another nut was coming at me. I stepped out of the way, and readied another arrow. I took aim and fired. The thing shrieked and ran behind a few trees_. Can this place get any weirder?_I thought. I continued more slowly this time, not wanting to run into something more deadly and get myself killed. 

For the next few hours, I tried to find the Kokiri, and I began to see why the villagers were so afraid of the Forest. Now that it was getting later,it was getting dark and spooky.Long shadows cast eerie shapes on the ground and on other trees. The normal animals and sounds were replaced with weird,scary ones. I found myself shooting an arrow at anything that moved, toward any sound. I ran into more of the strange plants, which hadn't been able to harm me yet, but they startled me every time they shot out of the ground. I even heard wolves howling in the distance, even though it was still the afternoon. I also began losing my sense of direction. I couldn't tell if I was going south like I was supposed to; I couldn't remember which was left and right. I began to worry that I was headed in the wrong direction and that I would miss the Kokiri altogether.

I stepped in the center of a clearing, hoping I could find out what direction I was traveling in. I heard rustling in the branches in the surrounding trees. I nocked an arrow to the bow and prepared to shoot...

"Go!" someone shouted. A bunch of children stepped out behind trees and bushes and branches. They all had slingshots aimed down at me. A boy stepped on a tree stump and yelled, "Are you the one who shot Rika?" 

"Who?" I asked.

"She was the music player," the boy said. "And you shot an arrow at her!"

"I was just trying to--" I started to explain.

"So it was you! Shoot him!"

"Mido," someone said. "Look at the bow."

The small boy looked at the bow I had in my hand. "The Fairy Bow...? It must be a trick!"

"No, I need to see the Great Deku Tree," I tried to explain again.

"What could you want with the Deku Tree?" the boy asked. 

"That's classified information."

"I think it's a trick," Mido said again. "He probably wants to tear down the Forest to build...stuff! We tried to be nice and get you out, but--"

"Oh, Mido, stop it!" someone scolded. The wind blew leaves around and I heard some faint music. The wind stopped and the flying leaves drifted to the ground. A girl stood in the center of the clearing.

"Saria!" Mido cried. "But...but..."

"It's important that he sees the Deku Tree," she said. "Glad to see your safe, Jake."

"Glad to be safe," I replied.

"You know him!" Mido shouted.

"Of course I do," Saria said, "He does have a piece of the Triforce. Now get him to the Deku Tree! It's very important." It was funny listening to Saria scolding Mido, even though they were both children. If the situation wasn't so dire, I might've laughed. 

"All right," Mido grumbled. "Follow me."

I began following all the children and slowed my pace so I could talk with Saria.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's my job to make sure the Forest is safe. Now that Kofuzen has escaped, it's important we make sure there isn't something wrong with our territories. I watch the Forest, and I felt power here, so I checked to make sure Kofuzen wasn't attacking the Kokiri."

"Where are the Kokiri anyway?"

Saria gave me a funny look. "They are," she said and pointed to the children. "What were you expecting?"

_Not a bunch of little kids, _I thought. _But I should really stop not expecting the unexpected. Maybe then I'll look less dumb... _

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I hope that that ending isn't too terribly lame, but I need to stop for awhile. Since it's spring break, I'll probably be updating more often. Please review! Reviewers will win a trip to the town they currently live in. Isn't that great? 


	13. The Great Deku Tree

Umm, not much to say...It'll probably be awhile before I update; Easter and all. Anyway, please enjoy! 

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All of the Kokiri were children. Every single one. I thought that only the ones I had met in the Forest were kids, but in their village I didn't see anyone over the age of ten. As we entered the village, more children--well, Kokiri, whatever--began to appear out of houses built in the trees or just stopped what they were doing. Some joined our line of people, but most just watched, wide-eyed. I thought about asking Saria why there weren't any adults, or even teens, but I didn't want to sound stupid. 

Mido was grumbling the whole time, saying things like, "Can't believe it...another outsider...no one cares about our safety..."

"Oh, Mido do shut up," a girl Kokiri said. "You don't want the Deku Tree to hear you talking like that do you?"

"Are we almost there then?" I asked.

"Yes," Saria said. The whole crowd of Kokiri stopped as one in front of a sort of tunnel. Two cliffs rose up on the left and right and wound away deeper into the forest. Saria seemed to notice for the first time that we weren't the only ones there and said, "Everyone go back to what you were doing. This is classified business." The children groaned and complained about how they never got to have fun, then she called, "Mido! Stay here and make sure no one gets to see the Tree until we get back."

"Yes, ma'am," Mido chirped. He jogged back to the path and stood at the entrance, his arms crossed. "What should I tell them, if someone comes?" he asked.

"Just say...that they need a sword and a shield to get through...and if they get them, tell them that Deku Tree is busy having a conference with the Wood." He nodded and stood resolute, like a small statue.

Saria and I began making our way down the winding path to the Great Deku Tree. "Is there anything I should know so I don't look dumb in front of the Deku Tree?" I asked.

"He knows things," was all she said.

Our walk to the Deku Tree was uneventful. The path widened at the end and the cliffs abruptly ended. We stood in a large clearing with a large, solitary tree in the middle. Its bark was darkened and in some spots and formed a face. 

"Saria, I thought I felt your power here." I looked around for the voice that seemed to be coming from nowhere, and then I noticed a gap in the tree closing and opening. I had thought "Great Deku Tree" was a title of some sort, rather than an actual description. "And who is this?" the Tree continued. "He has great power...even more than yours, Saria."

"This is Jake," Saria replied without batting an eye, as if it were natural to be talking to a giant tree. Well, in Hyrule, it probably was. "He has a piece of the Triforce."

"Another one? Don't tell me the third will show up in a few years."

"Another one?" I repeated, feeling extremely stupid. "Was someone else here?"

The Deku Tree had noticed me, but it now it seemed as if he acknowledged my presence. "Yes," he said. "A boy from Ordon...Link was his name."

"Where is he?" My pulse was rushing; I could tell that I was getting close.

The Tree seemed to sigh, if trees could do that anyway. A breeze ruffled the leaves at the top of his...head, and he creaked and groaned as if he were about to fall. "He is no longer here, if that is what you mean."

"But, the Prin--"

"I know why you need him, child. I don't mean to boast, but I am most likely the wisest being on Hyrule right now. My knowledge extends far beyond the reaches of this Forest that you Hylians like to call the Lost Woods. But it maybe that is an appropriate name..."

After a pause asked, "Then where is he? Where's Link?"

"That I do not know."

"But you said you were the wisest being in Hyrule! How can you not know?"

"Jake!" Saria scolded.

"No, it is okay, Saria. He is right to be mad. But I cannot feel his power in this Wood."

"What happened?" Saria asked before I could shout at him again.

"The boy came a few days ago. He wanted to know more about his Gift...the Triforce. I told him the legends about the Creation, the Triforce...But he wanted more information. So I sent him to the Forest Temple to pray. But I can no longer feel his power in the Wood, or even anywhere in Hyrule. I don't know what has happened or is happening to him."

The three of us were silent for a long time, only broken by the Tree's long, dramatic sighs. "I guess I have to go to the Temple then," I said finally.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that, young one," he said, "Something has happened to the Forest. I cannot protect you once you leave the village. Something has happened...my power is diminished."

Saria and I shared a look. "Great Deku Tree," she said. "Kofuzen has escaped. He is here, in Hyrule. At least that's what we think."

If tree's could look surprised, the Deku Tree did. "Kofuzen!" he gasped. "Now I see...I should not have sent Link to the Temple...What a dreadful mistake."

"Um, excuse me," I interrupted, "But what's so bad about Kofuzen? I know the Goddesses don't like him--"

"Kofuzen is a terrible demon," the Deku Tree seethed. "He escaped once before. Hyrule was a mess. The Forest moved, and people got lost. That's why it is now known as the Lost Woods. But it was worse. Death Mountain earned its name during that horrible time as well. It erupted often, destroying everything with a rain of fire. The Lake and the rivers flooded. The Desert's reach extended at least to the castle. Shadow engulfed the land. His power must have been reduced since then, but things do not bode well...

"Saria, do not let the Kokiri leave the village; keep the Ordonians out. Jake, go to the Temple and rescue Link, if you can. I will try my best to monitor your path, but once inside I know I cannot do anything to help you. Go now before it is too late!"

Saria and I ran back down the path between the cliffs. We shared a look of panic and pushed Mido out of the way. 

So far, I didn't like Hyrule. 

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I don't think the Deku Tree sounded like the Deku Tree, but I can barely speak normal English, let alone Old English or whatever. Anyways, please review and Happy Easter, unless you don't celebrate Easter, in which case I wish you a Happy...Holiday. Yeah... 


	14. Saria

Read.

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I waited as patiently as I could for Saria outside the hidden entrance to the Kokiri's village. She was supposedly telling the Kokiri not to leave, but I had a feeling she was doing something else as well. Finally, I heard rustling behind me as she--or really it could have been anyone--crawled out of the shrubs.

"What took you so long?" I asked, not bothering to turn around.

"I was getting this," Saria replied. She held up a small elliptical thing with a bunch of holes drilled into it. "It's an ocarina," she explained when she saw my quizzical expression.

"O...kay."

"I'm gonna use it to teleport," she said.

"O...kay."

"Shut up and grab my shoulder." I did as I was told, and she began playing a song on the ocarina. I could tell it was magic because the sounds of the animals stopped, and the trees seemed to lean closer. I felt lightning crackle through the air, felt the wind lifting me up...

It stopped. I blinked and looked around. We hadn't moved an inch. "Um...Saria?"

"It didn't work!" she seethed. Her anger was quickly replaced by panic and she began pacing. "That must mean Kofuzen's hold over the Forest is getting stronger! C'mon!" She grabbed my wrist and began dragging me through the Woods.

"I _can _walk," I said. She didn't let go; instead, she began running, not caring that my situation was becoming extremely uncomfortable. She would move aside a branch so she could get through, but they always whipped my face.

When she finally let go, it wasn't because of my whining and complaining. We had heard howling. At first it was far away, but every second the howls were getting closer and closer. "Wolfos," Saria muttered under her breath. I unsheathed my sword clumsily and held it up. I saw a pair of yellow eyes through a gap in the trees. Another pair appeared next to it, and I could feel some looking at me from behind. Saria and I waited, knowing we were trapped. A Wolfos pounced, I held my sword in what I hoped was a defensive stance.

Tree roots launched out of the forest floor and wrapped around the Wolfos. I could tell that it was really just a large wolf from the small amounts of moonlight, but it seemed different from any wolf as well. I would've tried to figure it out, but the roots twitched, I heard a sickening _crunch _and the thing yelped in pain. I didn't have the stomach to look at it afterward.

I turned so I could avoid the dead Wolfos and saw two more leap at me from the trees. I slashed my sword, hitting a Wolfos, but almost lost my balance. _What's happening? _I thought. I swung the Gerudo Dragon again, clipping the Wolfos on the snout. _This thing used to be so easy to use. Now I can barely lift it. _Vines dropped out of a tree, grabbed two Wolfos and threw them into the dark Forest. The last Wolfos--the one whose nose I has successfully...stung--ran away into the Wood.

"No need to thank me," Saria said as she began plowing her way through trees.

"That was you?" I asked incredulously.

"Hello, Forest Sage."

"Yeah, but--" She glared at me and I instantly shut up. It wasn't that I was afraid of what she would do to me...a better word would be terrified.

We went along in silence--I might've said something, but my arms were busy protecting my face, so I couldn't talk. We heard more howling, but we weren't bothered by Wolfos again. In fact, we weren't bothered by anything again. It was as if the Wolfos had told every living thing about Saria's power. But I began to doubt that when I noticed the trees were smaller and spaced farther apart. From what I knew, the creatures liked to be deeper in the Forest.

Finally we stepped out into what was either a large clearing or a small field. Saria moved forward, then sat down. "This is the Sacred Forest Meadow," she said. "It was my favorite place to be when I was young. Before I became a Sage... It's changed a lot. There were more trees last time I was here. Now it's like a field or something...We're gonna rest here for awhile." She opened up a pouch on her belt and poured out some nuts and berries. "Here's breakfast," she said.

I ate the meager portion of food and looked into the sky to guess what time it was. The sun was beginning to rise, so I supposed it was early morning. After a few minutes of rest, Saria stood up and began strolling through the Meadow. "Hurry up!" she called.

I followed her slowly, taking time to look at the interesting bugs and flowers that lived in the tall grass. It took awhile to get through the entire meadow--part of it was actually a maze, so that took some time. But the Forest finally reclaimed its territory. Trees were appearing now, and I could see clusters of them farther away. I had lost Saria a few minutes beforehand, but it seemed like I was being drawn...somewhere. I finally caught up with Saria a few feet before the Meadow became the Forest again. She was standing on a platform, which seemed out of place.

"This is where we would've teleported to," she said. She was staring into the Woods, her mind far away from her body.

"You okay?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she climbed a tree and hopped forward. "The entrance is up here."

A few minutes later, I had climbed the tree and hopped across onto a ledge. Stairs led down to the Forest floor and the entrance to the Temple. "Ready?"

"Of course not."

"Oh good, then I'm not the only one." She skipped down the stairs, but I stood still. If Saria was scared, then...

...Well, we were pretty much screwed.

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I'm gonna end this chapter here, but I'll probably update later today or tomorrow morning at the latest. Please review!


	15. The Forest Temple Part One

Sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know I said, "I'll update tomorrow." I know it's been three months. But this chapter was harder to write than I thought it would be, and I also decided to try harder. That's why Kouta Aburmame beta-read this for me. Thanks a bunch, Kouta. Anyway, please enjoy this.

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A few moments later, Saria came back and dragged me down the steps leading into the Temple. At the bottom, ivy-covered brick walls reached up to a thick canopy of trees. Saria let go and continued forward. I strained my eyes and saw a door hidden in the shadows of the tall trees. Saria pushed the door open, then turned back and looked at me as if to say, "Are you coming?"

A ghostly, pale green light filled the inside of the Forest Temple. A short flight of steps led down to a large central room. Once my eyes had adjusted to the strange lighting, I could see someone standing in the center of this cavern.

"Link!" I called. There was no response from the figure. "Link?" I repeated.

The person turned around and I saw two small, yellow lights. Eyes.

_Squeak!_ I turned my head and saw the door close behind me. "Of course," I murmured.

"Your power…" a thin, scratchy voice whispered. It was strange; the voice came from very close to me and very far away at the same time. I searched for the source of the voice, but I, Saria, and the shadowy figure were the only ones in the room. "The Power of the Sisters of the Triforce…I crave that power." The voice got louder and more powerful; my heart began to jump in my throat. "But which one of you shall I take next…? I already have one piece of the Triforce—"

"Link!" Saria interrupted, "what have you done to him?"

"But what of the power of a Sage?" the voice continued, as if Saria hadn't spoken at all. "I have yet to test that power."

I blinked, then the figure was right in front of us. His yellow, cat-like eyes gleamed. He smiled, revealing malevolent teeth. He reached out; I blinked once more. He was back in the center of the room, holding Saria over his shoulders. Four torches cast flickering shadows on his face—I hadn't noticed when they were lit—which carved deep fissures into the mysterious form.

"Jake!" Saria cried as they began to sink into the ground, "Leave; don't help me! Just get out!"

My first impulse was to do as Saria had said and run, but I found that I just couldn't leave her. It wasn't like we were friends or anything, but I had this sense of having to help her, just as I had had when Kenichi told me about Link.

Cautiously, I began to descend the steps to the bottom of the chamber. For no particular reason, sweat began to crawl down my face. I unsheathed my sword, knowing I would have to use it sooner or later. When I was a few feet away from where Saria and the silhouette disappeared, the torches snuffed out. Four of the strange, cloaked ghost-things from the prison where I had first made my entrance in Hyrule floated above one of the torches. They each separated and flew off in a different direction.

…The hell? I thought. Am I supposed to follow them or something? This place keeps getting weirder and weirder. I simply stood there for awhile longer, thinking about my options. It still wasn't too late to turn back, but I quickly dismissed that idea seeing as I wouldn't only lose Link but Saria as well. I could attempt to follow the odd phantoms, but not only did I not really know where they had gone, it would be too easy to get lost in the Temple.

"Help!" a small voice cried. "Somebody help meeeee!" I looked around for the voice, which was pretty whiny and high-pitched. "Helphelphelp!" A small speck of light squeezed itself through a crack in one of the doors around the circumference of the room. At first I thought it was on oversized firefly, but then I realized that the voice was coming from it. The talking firefly zoomed across the room toward me, where it cowered behind my head. "Please help me!" it whined.

"With what?" I asked, looking around the chamber. From the door where the firefly had come from one of the phantoms returned.

"With that!" the firefly shrieked as it glided toward us.

I shifted my legs and held my sword in what I hoped was some sort of fighting stance. Unfazed, the ghost continued. I tried tapping into Din's powers as the mutant firefly gave commands. "Wait till it gets close, but not too close! Hurry, hurry, hurry! It's getting closer…"

Nothing. I had tried my hardest, but the familiar rivers of power coursing through my veins would not come. Right when I needed it. The specter glided closer to us. "Swing!" the firefly screeched. For some reason, I listened to her and swung my sword. It was a clumsy slash and I nearly fell over; the ghost side-stepped—or side-glided—the blow.

"No! No, no, no! That's all wrong! Can't you use that thing?"

"Shut up!" I snapped, turning to look at the luminescent thing.

"LOOK OUT!" I turned back and saw the ghost spinning around, flailing a lantern—where had that come from? A ghostly blue fire erupted out of the lantern, forming a ring of flames. I could feel the blaze getting closer, but it wasn't hot. I actually think the temperature dropped a few degrees. A strange feeling accompanied the cold fire as well. It was almost like I felt as if I would never be happy again, no matter what happened.

"Don't fall for it," the firefly whispered. "The Poe's magic…it's just a trick. You have to ignore the feeling, as hard as it may seem."

I took the talking insect's advice and tried to ignore the great depression and feelings of impending doom that the…Poe…was trying to send me or whatever. It stopped spinning and the flame died down.

"Go!" the bug shouted, but I was already moving. As it tried to regain its balance—which must be really hard when you're levitating—I ran forward, holding my sword at the ready. The Poe seemed to see me and tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. As it tried to get away, I swung the Gerudo Dragon. The blade sliced through the Poe, tearing its cloak. A howl of pain was sounded, ringing off the stone, ivy-covered walls.

The Poe writhed beneath its tattered cloak, and slowly faded away. The lantern fell from where it had been hovering, crashing on the stone floor. A small, blue flame hung above the shattered glass, then zoomed to the center of the room and lit one of the large torches. I heard a _clunk_-ing noise and saw some chains falling off one of the doors.

"Hooray! We won, we won!" the firefly shouted.

"Excuse me," I interrupted, "but what—who—are you?"

"My name is Hotaru," it said, "and I'm a fairy of course!"

"Oh…of course…What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing!"

"That's classified information," I recited.

"You're not working for Kofuzen are you?"

"No, it's the exact opposite."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Hotaru asked. I shrugged. "There must be some way."

After a moment's hesitation, I pulled off the glove on my left hand and showed it to the fairy. I couldn't tell for sure, but she probably got wide-eyed. Assuming fairies have eyes, of course. "Thank the Goddesses!" she exclaimed. "You're just the person I was looking for!"

"Me?"

"Well not you specifically. You see, I came here with Link--"

"Link was here? What happened?"

"I was getting there. The Great Deku Tree sent Link here to see if he could discover anything about himself and the Triforce. After Link left, he told me to follow him and make sure he returned safely. He got very deep into the Temple; I actually thought he would make it without my help. But then he ran into Kofuzen. I tried to help, but somehow he blocked me from getting in. I don't really remember what happened but I think he took Link somewhere. I looked around for him, and then that Poe saw me…But you have a piece of the Triforce! You can save him!"

"That's why I came here, but I don't know where to look," I replied.

"That's okay! I've been here for at least a day; I can help you out!"

"Thanks Hotaru."

And with my new acquaintance, we entered the newly unlocked door and entered the Temple proper.

* * *

So? Well, I hope that the extra effort I put into this shows. Reviews, as always, are appreciated. Thanks for putting up with me.

Oh, yeah I change my pen name. It is now RichOverlordSam, in case you haven't noticed that yet.


	16. The Forest Temple Part Two

Okay, I'd once again like to thank Kouta Aburame for beta-reading this story and making it awesome. Please enjoy!

* * *

"Look out!" Hotaru cried as I closed the door behind me. I quickly took a step back as a something landed where I had been standing a second before. "A Skulltula!"

It was a spider. Simple as that. A giant spider with a strange pattern on its back that resembled a skull. "Strike its underside," Hotaru whispered in my ear. I readied my sword as best I could. Slowly, the spider or Skulltula or whatever twitched and made a quick 180. I lashed out speedily. It dropped from its web and spontaneously combusted.

"What the crap?"

"What is it? What's wrong?" Hotaru asked worriedly.

"It burst into flames!"

"They usually do. Now hurry! Who knows how much longer Link has!" I rolled my eyes at the fairy, but continued nonetheless.

We stepped into a large chamber. Well, truthfully, it was more like a maze. Large stone walls jutted up from the floor irregularly, and a stone block guarded the entrance. I heard a screech in the distance—most likely bats or some such creature—but didn't see anything dangerous.

"This is puzzle," Hotaru explained before I could ask any questions. "You have to move the block to a certain spot in order to get deeper into the Temple. Link already did this but it must've…reset."

I thought about asking but decided against it. I'd probably just get another nonsensical answer like, "They usually do."

"So I just…push?" I asked while throwing my weight against the block.

"Pretty much. I'll tell you what to do."

After a few minutes, I had the block on the far side of the chamber, anchored into a small depression in the floor. Hotaru told me to climb the stone and get up to the next level. I did as was told and entered a stairwell. A portrait hung from the wall, with the face of a pretty girl staring out at me.

"Now what?"

Hotaru didn't answer. Instead, she kept staring at the picture. I looked over to it and saw it had changed. The girl now had a hood on that shadowed her pretty blue eyes and rosy cheeks. I kept my gaze locked and saw the girl become a skeleton, then watched the face withdraw into the darkness of the cloak.

"Nock an arrow," Hotaru commanded.

I was about to ask what she meant when I remembered about the bow Kenichi had given me before my departure on this insane quest. I hurriedly nocked an arrow into the bow. It felt light, but I could tell it was strong. I pulled on the string, then let it loose with a small twang! The arrow embedded itself in the portrait of the Poe—which I now realized it was. The spirit gave a cry of pain before fading into nothingness.

Hotaru and I went down the rest of the stairs, and saw another Poe waiting for us. I nervously released the Gerudo Dragon from its scabbard and gripped it tightly. The Poe spun around, its lantern spewing blood red flame. Remembering the last time I had faced a Poe, I tried to focus only on destroying the specter. I felt the waves of grief hit me, but I was able to shake it off. The Poe slowed to a stop and I made my move. I jumped off my left foot and thrashed at it from above. It spasmed and shrank, letting its lantern become victim to gravity and fall. A red flame hesitantly emerged, then zoomed up the stairs and away from me.

"You handle that sword…interestingly," Hotaru remarked. "You weren't very good when I first met you, and, trust me, that was also pretty bad, but it was…better."

"Maybe it's Din," I mumbled to myself, but I knew it wasn't true. If it was, I would've felt the familiar warmth of her presence. I also had a hard time believing I was a natural at swordsmanship, but Hotaru interrupted my thoughts.

"A chest!" She zipped over and danced a small circle around it.

"Was that there a moment ago?"

"Probably not," she said calmly, as if she were describing the weather.

"Isn't that kind of…abnormal?" I asked, trying to contain the overwhelming feelings of abnormality killing my sense of reality.

She didn't say anything, but instead threw herself at the chest in a sorry attempt to open it. As entertaining as the scene was, I strode over and easily pushed the lid up. Inside the heavily guarded chest was…

"A key?" I shouted. "Are you freakin' kidding me?"

"Back to the entrance hall!" Hotaru exclaimed with too much glee.

After making our way back through the three rooms, we arrived once again in the large entrance chamber. Another torch was lit, this one with a red flame. Hotaru skipped—if you can skip while hovering—across the room to another locked door. We put the key in and entered the next hallway.

It was really all the same. Only this time there were a few more enemies: some bats (Hotaru called them "Keese") and mutant plants ("Deku Babas"). I battled another Poe—this one spitting green fire—for the marvelous prize of a key. A stupid key!

I repeated the routine one last time—this time almost getting eaten by a Deku Baba twice—before all the Poes had been killed. When Hotaru and I got to the entrance hall again, all the torches were lit. We heard a chime and a small elevator-like device slipped out of the ground.

"When Link went down here…I lost him," Hotaru sobbed.

"This is where I lost Saria," I replied. We both stood still, mourning for our companions. What had happened to them? I could only hope Saria was still alive.

"Ready?" Hotaru asked, collecting herself.

"I never will be," I answered. "But we're their last hope."

Hotaru nodded—assuming, of course, that a fairy could indeed nod—and we stepped onto the small square. Shortly after, we met up with the floor, then sunk below into depths unknown.

At the bottom was a small, elliptical stone chamber, similar to a lot of the ones I had visited before making the journey into the cellar of the Temple. A red carpet led to an opening at one end of the room.

"Link went in there…he didn't come back," Hotaru reiterated. I stared at the small speck of light bobbing beside me. It was amazing how she seemed to convene emotion without…well, a body. The small glow surrounding her seemed to have died down a little and she appeared to be on a slant, as if to hang her head in grief.

"Why are you so upset?" I wondered out loud. "You didn't know him well, right?"

"Well, no," she sobbed, "but I feel as if he's been my best friend for a long time. It's the same with you."

"It'll be all right," I murmured, not knowing what else to say. "He's fine, I'm sure of it."

"I hope so…" Suddenly, her…posture seemed to change. The faint luminescence grew brighter; she seemed to almost straighten up, to hold her head high. "But it's no use moping about, is it? If I want to save Link, I'll have to do it myself!" She flew forward a bit then added, "With some help from you, of course."

I ran after her, sweating underneath my heavy armor. I released my sword from the scabbard, preparing for the worst. I opened the door for Hotaru, and we both jumped up a flight of steps to face our enemy.

At the top of the stairs was a small, circular platform, about five feet off the ground. Paintings hung from the wall a few feet away from the platform, each depicting a winding pathway through a forest.

"Look!" Hotaru gasped. I spun around and gazed at the painting that had captured her attention, and was shocked at what I saw.

It was Saria. Her arms were outstretched, as if she wanted to grab something just out of reach. Her mouth was agape, forming a word I couldn't hear. She looked scared, yet hopeful. Behind her was a boy in green, wearing a scowl on his face.

"Saria," I breathed, "what happened?"

"Link, Link…" Hotaru chanted.

"Do you like it?" a voice behind us asked in a mocking tone. "It's my favorite. Really captures the variety of emotion. Courage versus cowardice. It's a shame neither emotion was much help to those two. I was looking forward to a challenge for once, you know?"

Turning around, I saw a man with glowing, tawny eyes and raven black hair. He was smiling, but anyone could see it wasn't joyful. It was an evil smile that made his eyes twinkle as if he had told a joke. But there was no humor in the expression; instead, it was full of hatred, rage, and pain. He was wearing armor now, but I could tell it was Kofuzen, the great evil that had escaped in my dream.

"But perhaps you are different?" he continued. "You are neither courageous nor cowardly. What then? Stupid, perhaps? Maybe it's something similar to courage like confidence. Whatever it is, it is magnificent. Powerful--Ah, so it's power. You must be the boy…the human" --he seemed to spit the last word—"with the Triforce. How perfect!"

Kofuzen leaped into the air, but rather than fall, he dissolved into several blobs of darkness and swirled down and around me, then straight into one of the paintings. The specks of darkness reassembled into a man running down the path, rather than standing still like in a normal painting. At the end he turned and ran back. I noticed the paintings next to it showed the same thing. Confused, I spun around as quickly as I could without getting dizzy, trying to figure out what he was trying to do.

"Gotcha!" someone cheered. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kofuzen leaping out of a painting while the others had disappeared. I ducked and clumsily rolled to the side to avoid him. He arced through the air, then dove into another portrait. Instantaneously, the others showed him sprinting down the forest trail as well.

"I figured it out," Hotaru whispered in my ear. "The real Kofuzen will split into those little blobs like before. You have to shoot him with an arrow as he's exiting the picture."

I fumbled for my bow, watching each painting for signs of his transformation. As I nocked the arrow, I saw one of the little people divide into specks of inky blackness. They quickly expanded, and I released the arrow as his forearms reached out for me. The arrow flew true and struck him between the eyes a second after his head had returned to normal. He yowled in pain as he finished his jump out of the portrait and collapsed on the ground.

"Little brat!" he roared, pulling the arrow out of his face. A single drop of liquid gold fell from the wound before the skin stitched itself back together. The blood danced on the floor, small particles of brilliant dust puffing out where it touched. Kofuzen's eyes flashed and a million sparks danced down his right arm and began to form a ball of energy.

"Attack while he's charging this thing," Hotaru advised.

I dropped the bow and launched myself at the villain, screaming like a maniac, whipping my sword around. It connected with his side; the magic missile blasted from his palm at an angle and blew a portion of the floor to smithereens.

"How dare you!" he screamed.

"Thought you wanted a challenge," I taunted.

It set him off. He howled and clapped his hands above his head, creating a vibrating thread of lightning like a bridge between his gloved palms. He brought his hands together again, compressing the electric yarn into a cage which quickly filled with a shimmering gold.

"LIGHTNING BOMB!" he screeched.

Time seemed to slow down. The magical sphere flew away from his body—straight at me. Hotaru shrieked something about using my sword to hit it back at him. I did as she commanded and swung--the ball ricocheted off the flat of the blade, back at Kofuzen--he ducked and the bomb entered the painting behind him--we watched, stunned, as it flew down the path and then like a boomerang came whizzing back—watched as it exploded from one of the portraits and collided…with Kofuzen.

He soon became victim to gravity and plummeted toward the ground. Sparks—of electricity, magic, or both I couldn't tell—skipped on his body, cracking the beautiful armor, which then broke away from his body.

"NOW! NOW, NOW, NOWNOWNOW!" Hotaru screamed giddily.

Her advice came late though, as I was already sailing through the air and bringing the tip of my blade down. It ripped through Kofuzen's back and exited through the other side. He took a deep breath—his last breath—then shuddered and crumpled into a heap upon the floor.

"We did it, we did it," Hotaru sang as I wrenched the Gerudo Dragon from his body. Liquid sunlight fell from it in a shining stream, not clinging to the cool steel at all. I looked down and saw that Kofuzen had become just a web of gold, which was dissolving into tiny pinpoints of light. As the last of the web faded away, I saw that only a skeleton was left.

"Congrats," a voice said from the shadows, "You defeated my puppet. I am impressed. However, if you ever live long enough to get to the real thing, it won't be so easy. I'm not made of woven strands of magic, after all." And then he laughed, and shivers crawled up and down all the bones in my body, my blood ran cold.

"That's so unfair!" Hotaru groaned. "And we still haven't found"—the portrait of our comrades jumped off the wall and popped like a balloon, releasing the huddled figures of Saria and—"Link!"

"Who are you?" Link asked as he brushed himself off and pulled Saria to her feet. Hotaru tried to explain the story while Saria and I strolled into a corner to talk privately.

"I knew you would do it," she cried before I could say anything, throwing her arms around my waist, "I knew you wouldn't leave!" She broke down into tears and I patted her back, murmuring soothing words into her ear. "I knew we could trust you. I knew I could trust you," she sobbed. "I knew Din made the right choice." She took a deep breath and continued crying.

I comforted her as a mother would a child before she choked out, "I knew you would be a good friend."

And for the first time, I wasn't mad at the situation I was in, or that I was here in Hyrule instead of at home where I still wanted to be. Because even though I would never let Saria—or anyone, for that matter—know it, her words lifted my spirits.

Because I had finally found a friend.

* * *

Phew, longest thing I ever wrote... I think... Anyway, reviews are, as always, much appreciated.


	17. Lost Treasures, Forgotten Legends

Thanks again to Kouta for beta-reading. Read and review!

* * *

Our sweet moment was interrupted by a high-pitched shriek (most likely from Hotaru, but I suppose it could've come from Link). I rushed over, followed by Saria, while pulling my sword from its scabbard for what seemed like the billionth time in the past half-hour or so. Luckily, there was no new enemy to destroy. Actually, it seemed like there was nothing wrong at all, until Hotaru gestured (not exactly sure how) at one of the paintings.

There was a small speck of green light bobbing at the end of the trail. It seemed harmless enough; after all, it had no real shape. However, I couldn't help feeling a tad nervous as it bounced along the path, coming closer and closer to the frame. Sweat trickled down my forehead and neck, itching under the thick plating of my armor. Finally, the pale-green ball burst forth, the canvas rippling like a pool of water. It stopped before us, hanging in the air.

"What… what is that?" I asked when no one said anything.

"I… don't know…" Link answered, putting away his blade. His blue eyes sparkled in the light radiating from the strange object.

Hotaru glided forward, circling around the mysterious object. "Even I don't know what this thing is," she said (rather snottily, too, I might add). "But it seems all right. It's not dangerous at any rate."

Saria said nothing. She reached out for the sphere tentatively. It shot into her hand, almost as if it knew it belonged there.

"Well?" Link breathed.

"I'm not sure," Saria finally replied. "But I think I know someone who might know about this…" She pulled the Forest Medallion out of a pocket in her tunic-thing. "With Kofuzen—or phantom-Kofuzen or whoever that was—gone, I should be able to teleport now. Everyone grab a hold of me." We did as instructed. Saria mumbled some sort of spell.

After the last syllable left her lips, the room spun around and around and around. I almost thought I would get sick. The colors all blurred together, as did the shapes and the sound of the wind around us. We slowed to a halt back in the Kokiri Forest. At our feet was a barely-visible path, with thick trees, bushes, and weeds to either side of it. A few shy animals were padding around, trying to determine if it was safe.

"This is the painting," Link stated, "How did we get in here?"

"It's not a painting," Saria replied, "It's a real place. This is a secret path to the Great Fairy of the Forest."

"The Great Fairy!" Hotaru shouted gleefully, "This is turning out to be a pretty good day!"

Saria led us down the ancient trail, sometimes glancing at her feet to make sure we were going in the right direction. The path led to a cave of sorts in the face of a small cliff. Hotaru whizzed inside, while the rest of us walked in a little more cautiously.

A sweet melody filled my ears inside the cave, which was more like a throne room. A small waterfall trickled from the ceiling and down the wall, creating a small pool to either side of us. A gleaming white walkway led to some steps and another pool of water, with a large, majestic stream gently slipping into it. I saw Saria with her ocarina out of the corner of my eye, realizing the tune came from her and not some deep magic of the wood or whatever.

There was a cackle as Saria put away her strange instrument and something erupted from the calm water in front of us. "Oh, it's been ages since anyone has visited me," whined the figure as the liquid gracefully splashed back into the basin. With the water gone, I could see the Fairy was actually quite beautiful. Her skin was a light chestnut color, similar to the bark of a tree. Her hair was a dark red, like berries or leaves in the fall. She had a grass-green gown on, whipping around her feet despite the fact that there was no wind. The word that came to my mind was "stunning."

"The Great Fairy," Hotaru gasped, bowing slightly.

"What a strange group," the Great Fairy mumbled to herself, "One of my children with a Kokiri, a Hylian, and a… a human? I have slept far too long, it seems.

"Well, anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked us, her pearly whites sparkling a little.

"Oh, wise Fairy of the Wood, we have come across--" Saria tried to recite, but was interrupted by Hotaru.

"Mama, mama, look at what we found!" she cried, pulling Saria closer to the fountain. "Look!"

The Fairy bent over, squinting at what Saria held in her hands. Her mouth dropped open in surprise and her hazel eyes bulged in their sockets. "Where… what… how…?" She collapsed into an invisible chair. "Just who are you?" she managed.

Everyone gave me a quick glance, so I introduced myself and told her about everything that had happened: My departure from home, the journey under the desert, meeting Zelda, returning home, Kofuzen's escape from some weird prison, my return to Hyrule, my quest to find Link, facing Kofuzen in the Forest Temple, and finally finding the thingy Saria had. I could tell that Hotaru and Link were also paying close attention, although they pretended to already know about everything that had happened.

"Wow," she whispered when I had finished my long and extraordinary tale. "You have had quite an adventure. But I can tell some things trouble you. I believe I can be of some assistance there."

"Thanks," I croaked, my throat dry from our story-telling session.

The Great Fairy seemed to notice my—or maybe everyone's—weariness and cupped her hands together. She bent into her fountain and sprinkled the water on us. I could feel my stamina and strength return to me. She then lay on her side in the air, like she was watching TV.

"So, Jake, what would you like to know?"

"Um… Well first, what or who is Kofuzen? I mean, Zelda told me, but I still don't what happened," I answered.

"This is a long tale, forgotten by the people. Have a seat." The Fairy then thought before saying, "There's a place far from here that the Hylians call 'the Sacred Realm.' Their legends say the Goddesses live and maintain order from there. And that is true. But there is so much more.

"You see, there are many gods and goddesses and other beings there. The Sacred Realm is more than Heaven or Paradise. It's a town or a city, perhaps even a country where all the beings live. However, not all of them are like Din, Farore, and Nayru. Some, like Kofuzen, are more malicious, evil spirits. And that's where the problem starts.

"Many, many millions of years ago, one of the gods tried to create another Realm, where they—the good spirits--could get away from the negative vibes coming off some of the others. But in his spell-casting, something went astray. No one knows why. Some say he just wasn't powerful enough, while others say it was one of the nastier spirits or demons. But that didn't matter. It was inhospitable for the gods and their wives and children—who were like angels, rather than gods. Anyway, this god gave up after his one and only attempt, but forgot about a part of the original spell. This caused the planet to change, and soon, people and animals and plants began to live there.

"Fascinated by what happened, others—good spirits and evil demons alike—began making new worlds and people. They soon figured out they could win over these people by showing themselves to them, and thus earn praise. The praise added to the magical ability of the gods, and they created more and more. The Goddesses were not to be left out of the new fad. They created Hyrule, but unlike most of the others, they protected their people."

"Wait, wait, wait," Link interrupted. "Are you saying Hyrule is just a fashion trend?"

"Yes and no," the Great Fairy replied. "It was originally, but the Goddesses were kind enough to tend Hyrule while in its beginning stages, making it the wonderful place it is now. Few other realms were lucky enough to receive such a blessing, Earth being among them.

"However, Hyrule had its problems also. If you haven't been able to tell yet, the gods are like people. They have fashion trends and secrets and inside jokes that make no sense. And like people, they have rivals. Some are friendly competition, in things like sporting events, but most rivalries come just short of being a feud or a war. Our gracious Goddesses are no exception. Their rival was none other than Kofuzen, who came down to Hyrule while the Goddesses were creating it and breathed evil into the land. Since the curse was there at the Creation, it could not be expelled.

"When the Goddesses learned of this, they went after Kofuzen for almost ruining their planet. Their actions sparked a movement in the other spirits, and a full-out war waged between them and the demons. The gods, of course, won, and a half-realm was created to contain the demons."

"Half-realm?" I asked, confused.

"A place between the other, or secondary, realms and the Sacred Realm. Kofuzen, being the trigger for the war, was locked in the deepest dungeon. It seems that he has escaped, though, and is now in Hyrule…"

We sat in silence for a few minutes pondering this over. "So you're saying that we're waging war against the King of the Demons or something?" I asked.

"In a sense," the Great Fairy sighed, "you are. But do not worry; the Goddesses will get us through this troubling time."

"But… I can't feel Farore in me anymore," Link said slowly. "I used to feel a presence, but now it's just me."

"Same here," I added.

The Great Fairy mulled that over for a moment, then replied, "I do not know what to say that, except that you should visit the Temple of Time. It's the portal to the Sacred Realm, and if there is a lingering presence of one or all of the Goddesses, it will be there."

"Excuse me," interrupted Saria, "but what is this?" She held up the thingy again.

"Ah, yes," the Fairy muttered, "I had almost forgotten.

"This is more of some of the forgotten legend of Hyrule. When it was created, the Goddesses appointed some of the children as guardians to watch for Kofuzen's curse upon the land. There were eight: Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, Time, Earth, and Air. They watched over the people, making sure nothing was amiss. Nothing had happened since the Creation, so they—the Guardians--bonded with Hyrule and slept."

"How do you mean, Mama?" Hotaru asked.

"Well, they used most of their divine power to become a piece of Hyrule. Like in one variation of the legend, the Forest Guardian changed into the tree that dropped the seed of the Great Deku Tree. But there was a flaw in this plan. Although the Guardians would feel the curse if it sprang up, they forgot that the curse was part of the land itself. And now so were they.

"Within a few centuries, the curse had spread into their bodies without them knowing. At almost the same time in the Sacred Realm, the war between gods and demons was coming to its climax. Locked in the half-realm, the curse left Kofuzen's control and took hold over Hyrule. The Guardians became infected and turned against the land. The Goddesses had no option to but to erase everything.

"They descended upon Hyrule for the first time since its Creation and bonded their power together. It created the Triforce which annihilated the curse with its divine holiness. The Triforce erased the curse from Hyrule, making it a barren wasteland. The Guardians were destroyed, since they were infected by Kofuzen's evil magic.

"But because the Goddesses could not bear to erase the original land, the Guardians remained at the same time. After all, they were a part of the land. The small fragments left behind, called the 'Souls of the Guardians,' gave birth to new forests, rivers, plains, and mountains. The Goddesses, seeing that there was only a small seedling left of the curse, created people—Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, and Fairies, the Fairies being the new Guardians of the land. They also appointed the Sages to aid the Fairies, so that there would be a smaller chance of all the Guardians becoming cursed once again.

"My sisters and I soon found the Souls, and learned about what happened through prayers to the Goddesses. Not wanting anyone to find them, we built Temples to hide them and honor the Guardians at the same time. The Air and Earth Souls, however, were not found. The other Great Fairies and I assumed that the Air and Earth Guardians had not bonded to the land like the others, but had somehow become cursed and were completely obliterated."

"So this is a Guardian's Soul?" Saria asked tentatively, not wanting to interrupt.

"Yes, young one," the Fairy said kindly. "It is a powerful artifact. My sisters and I discovered that these control Hyrule. Here, watch." She took the Soul from Saria and pushed a part of it. Mushrooms popped to life on the walls of the fountain, releasing miniature spores into the air. The Fairy then twisted it and the fungus withered away.

"This is what Kofuzen was after. The curse, being part of the Creation, could not be wiped out by the Restoration. If he changed the Forest dramatically enough, it would 'remember' the curse, which would then dominate it, or he could change it so that it became sick and then use magic to revive the curse. Either way, he wins."

"How come I never heard this legend before?" Saria then asked.

"When we asked the Goddesses about the Souls and they told us what we wanted to know. But they asked us to keep it quiet; there was no need to worry the people about something that had mostly been taken care of after all." Saria nodded in understanding.

"Why did Kofuzen curse Hyrule anyway?" Link wondered. "Spite?"

"I suspect he did it because he could not create a world."

"But you said he was the most powerful demon," I reminded her.

"Yes, but Kofuzen lacks creativity. At least, in something like creating a world. He's a genius when it comes to war, but not art and beauty. I think he figures that if the world is curses, the Goddesses will leave and he can rule. But this is just a guess."

"Mama, mama! I have a question!" Hotaru shouted before anyone could say something else. "I was wondering… Why is it that I feel this really close bond to Link and Jake?"

"My guess is that it's because you can feel the Goddesses' presence in them. And if that's the case, then all hope is not lost. If you can feel Din and Farore, then they are not completely cut off from Hyrule.

"Now, my children sleep. I may have revitalized you, but a good rest is better than any blessing I have to offer."

She squeezed the Soul and some spores rained down on us. Although I hadn't felt tired, my eyes drooped closed and I drifted into the world of dreams.

* * *

Phew, you have no idea how long it took me to come up with all that information. It's seriously the most important chapter so far. Anyway, please review. It's for the orphans!


	18. Thanks for Listening

Sorry about the wait. It's just... school. That about covers it. And much thanks to the eternally patient Kouta Aburame.

* * *

When I first woke up, I thought for a second that I was home and my mom would be calling me downstairs for a warm breakfast. A few seconds later, reality hit me once again, and I remembered everything. When the memories returned, so did the consequences of my battle with Phantom Kofuzen. The muscles in my right arm were especially stiff, and they, along with most of my abdomen, ached painfully. There were a few dark bruises on my legs and chest… Why wasn't I wearing a shirt?

"I see you're finally awake," Saria said as she climbed through a hole in the floor.

"Where are we?" I mumbled while trying to turn on my side without hurting myself.

"We're back in the Forest," she replied, "Link and Hotaru are a few houses down. The Great Deku Tree told me to check on you two—that is, you and Link—periodically. Now that you've finally woken up, you should know the Deku Tree wants to talk to you. I know you're hurt, but most people, humans especially, don't get this opportunity, so you might wanna hurry up."

"Whatever," I slurred, shutting my eyes tight against the sunlight streaming in through some windows. But the pain kept me from falling back to sleep, so I sat up and stretched my arms as much as I could without harming myself.

I stumbled out of bed and looked around the room. It was a small circular chamber carved into the wood with a table, two chairs, a dresser, and the bed. All of it was too small, but since I tend to curl up in a ball while I sleep, I hadn't noticed. I opened one of the drawers and found some green tunics folded neatly in little piles. Oddly enough, when I tried one on, it fit. I thought about changing the pants I had on, but figured that the white cotton trousers were good enough.

Getting through the floor was tricky. It wasn't that I was too big; I just couldn't squeeze through without agitating any bruises. I ended up slipping through as quickly as possible and scrambling down the ladder. Kinda like ripping off a band-aid, I guess. Speaking of band-aids, I probably needed one now…

The Forest looked better. I hadn't paid much attention on my way through, but I remember it being dark and somewhat scary. Now the sunlight filtered through the trees at all the right angles, so that there was enough light but not too much. Bees floated lazily from bright flower to bright flower, filling the air with the scent of pollen. The Kokiri ran around, playing tag or some other game. It was the perfect place to be. Like the woods back home.

Home…

A sudden wave of nostalgia washed away the satisfaction and tranquility I had been feeling a few moments ago. I knew I couldn't return home—at least, not yet—but that didn't mean I didn't want to go back.

"Jake?" Saria asked tentatively, "You all right?"

"Yeah," I said, putting on a fake smile, "Just… thinking."

"Right… Well, the Great Deku Tree still wants you to visit."

"Lead the way."

She glanced at me one more time before heading toward the Deku Tree's grove. I followed behind her in silence. I didn't feel much like talking at the moment. When we arrived at the cliffs, I told Saria I could continue alone.

The walk alone was almost fun. There were no trees at this point, so I could see the sky. Lazy clouds drifted along the blue landscape, occasionally covering the yellow sun. I wanted to watch them, float with them, but remembered that were a few turns and I figured I'd do something stupid and run into one of the cliff sides or something.

"Hello, young one," the Great Deku Tree said when he saw me, "Take a seat."

I planted my butt on the tall grass, picking a few blades of it and playing with them.

"Saria told me everything when she got back. You did a very brave thing back there."

I mumbled my thanks but otherwise remained silent.

"Is something troubling you?" he asked.

I didn't want to say anything, but the tone of his voice made the blocks of ice in my throat melt away.

"It's just…" I began, "I… I dunno… I miss my family. I know I need to stay there, but…"

"I see," he said thoughtfully. If he had joints, I was sure he would nod, too. "There is a way for you to see them."

"Really?"

"Really," he grinned, "Do you see that pool of water on my right?"

I looked to my left and saw a small spring. "Yeah. What about it?"

"Look into it and picture your family."

I stood up and brushed some grass of my legs. I limped over to the pool and looked in, thinking of mom and dad and my sister. The surface of the water rippled like something had fallen into it. It split into three sections, each showing a different member of my family. Mom was stirring something, most likely pancakes. Dad was shaving in the bathroom. My sister, Ann, was still sleeping. I waited for them to move, do something, but remembered that time wasn't flowing on Earth. Not while I was still here.

"This doesn't make me feel any better," I admitted.

"I didn't think it would," the Deku Tree replied, "but I'm afraid it's all I can do for you at the moment."

I sighed and sat down again, staring at the sky. If only I could be a cloud; if only I could just go with the flow without any worries.

"Would you like to… talk?" the Deku Tree asked me, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"I guess…"

So I talked to him. About pretty much everything. I told him about my family, about my friends. I just said whatever came to my mind really. He only interrupted to ask about certain objects: TVs, video games, airplanes, cars, etc. It was hard to explain modern appliances (doesn't everyone just know?), but it was fun at the same time because I finally knew something that no one else did. I could tell he was recording the information, but I didn't mind. Maybe he'd send a memo to the rest of Hyrule or something.

When I was finished, several hours had passed. It was getting dark and I wanted to speak with Saria and Link, so I stood up.

"Thanks," I said before being swallowed up by the cliffs, "Thanks for listening."

* * *

Yes, I've finally explored someone's character! Score! Probably another chapter of character development before the plot gets rolling again.


	19. So Long, Sanctuary

Has it been five months already? Wow... I'm sorry. It took forever to write this (I believe I finished it around Christmas), but it isn't a lot. For some reason, my beta never looked it over (don't worry, Kouta, you're still awesome), so I ended up doing it myself. It definately isn't enough for that long wait. Not character development like I said it would be, but I got the plot started up again. Please enjoy, guys!

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As of February 18, 2009, Kouta actually has gone over those. Got the corrections the day after I posted this chapter. I've gone over it again, and now it is a lot better. Now I remember why I got a beta in the first place. (Okay, now you can actually enjoy the story!)

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After leaving the Deku Tree's grove, Saria led me back to my tree house to get some rest. I would've rather been outside playing with the Kokiri, or just resting, or maybe even talking with Link, but Saria insisted that I stay inside until walking didn't cause any pain. For the first few days, I literally wasn't allowed to leave, but Saria finally let me outside for walks around the forest or visits to Link or the Deku Tree. Yeah, right. I bet she just didn't want to listen to my grousing anymore.

Link was in about the same condition as I was, maybe a little worse. He didn't have many bruises and scratches like I did, but apparently the spell that bound him inside the portrait had some side effects. He had flu-like symptoms: high fever, congested sinuses, the whole bit. He was also was in a lot of pain and threw up multi-colored fluids. Often. Needless to say, it was not very pleasant. For either of us. I felt really sorry for the guy; I'm sure he would trade my condition for his any day.

Saria was immune to these effects because she was a sage or something along those lines. When I asked her about she started babbling about "magical immunity" which one gained through "years of magical experience involving both the casting of spells and the understanding of said spells enough in order to set up barriers to protect mind, body, and spirit."

Yeah okay Saria that makes perfect sense…

My visits with the Great Deku Tree were much more fun. We would often talk about home when I felt lonely, or he would answer some of the questions I still had. I looked into the small spring every day to check up on my family and friends. It looked like one or two seconds passed there for each day I was spending here. Every day I wished more and more that I could return home, but it was good to see their faces again, even if they didn't know I was gone.

After a week or two, Saria found some plants that worked together to cure Link without any harmful side effects. My bruises were barely noticeable anymore, and I was almost back to the physical condition I had been in before my fight with the Phantom. With both of our recoveries almost complete, Link, Hotaru, Saria, and I quickly became close friends. It wasn't that we had much in common (what could we have in common?), but we had a bond between all of us that people could only gain after battling together. We had a lot of fun times together in our short stay in the Forest.

The Kokiri slowly began to accept us and let us join in on their games. It came as a shock to me, truthfully. It wasn't that they didn't like us; it was more that they didn't acknowledge us. When they Saria, they would bow or curtsy, or at least wave or smile. Not with me. You know, the guy who actually killed Phantom-Kofuzen and saved their sorry butts?

Slowly—very slowly—I think they began to realize that we were okay. They began to wave at me in the streets. A few of them actually tried to start a conversation. I had been too lost in my own thoughts to notice at the time, so nothing too memorable happened, but it was still a nice gesture.

And then—even more slowly—they showed us their way of life. Surprisingly, the most helpful of them was Milo (the little twerp who tried to deny us access into their village). He told Link and I, along with Saria's help, about their culture.

They traded for food and clothes, instead of using money like they did outside the Wood. We found out that they stayed eternally young because of a deep magic that was part of the entire Forest (I figured this had something to do with the Souls and the second creation of Hyrule, but kept my mouth shut). The Kokiri didn't have any responsibility other than feeding themselves, so, naturally, they had a large variety of games to play.

I noticed that Milo was the ringleader. He convinced the rest of the Kokiri to let us participate in their fun. The games weren't different from back home: they had kickball, tag, hide-and-seek. Not only was it fun, but it gave me a certain sense of nostalgia for Earth. It wasn't depressing like it sometimes was, though; it was a good kind of nostalgia, like old people have I guess.

Somehow, someway, I decided Milo wasn't that bad. He was actually a really good friend.

Even though our stay in the Forest was the best thing that had happened to me so far, we stayed too long.

Much too long.

I first noticed something was wrong when I went to the Deku Tree's grove to see my family. It took awhile, but it finally clicked. About five minutes had passed. Really, that's not a lot of time. But when only three seconds should have gone by, that's a huge jump. I stared at the pool in disbelief for almost a minute before the Deku Tree asked me what was wrong.

"The time…" I mumbled.

"Pardon me, I didn't quite catch that."

"Five minutes passed back home…"

"And…?"

"It should have only been about three seconds."

After a slight pause the Great Deku Tree said, "Get away from the water."

I was about to ask why when the image on the water shifted to another scene. It was completely dark except for a small sliver of light in the back left corner and two small, red dots, which I felt were eyes. I thought I saw some slight rustling, but the dim lighting and faint outlines made it hard to tell. I couldn't hear anything (I assume that the magic on the spring didn't allow sounds to transfer), but, judging by the movement of the shadows, it looked the figure's mouth was moving. Suddenly, the eyes flashed at me and I saw the jaw drop a little.

Startled, I crawled away from the water just in time. A hand sprang out of the dark pool, grabbing the spot where I had been moments before. As the rest of the body pulled itself onto the land, I noticed that it mostly consisted of bone, with rotting flesh still clinging to the skeleton. As if to confirm my observation, a putrid stench reached my nostrils. The smell of death and rot.

The monster finally got its entire body of the water and lurched for me. Utterly defenseless, I stumbled backward. A flash of green erupted behind me, and the corpse disappeared, leaving only the fading scent of decay to suggest it had been there in the first place.

"What was--?"

"Wait," the Great Deku Tree commanded. "There might be more."

We stood in silence for a long minute or two, my breath short and ragged, my heart racing at Olympic speeds. Another pair of bony hands burst from the spring, and soon after the rest of the monster's body was dragged onto the surface. Vines covered in thorns shot out of the grassy turf, tearing the undead apart in streaks of yellow-green.

"He knows you're here," the Deku Tree grunted, "Get Saria and Link, tell them to pack their weapons, and have them meet back here."

I was already in battle mode: My muscles moved before my brain could give the command, and adrenaline surged through my blood, like it was a drug that my body craved. Without thinking, I followed the Deku Tree's orders, running back to town in a daze, repeating his message, and then returning to my own house to grab my sword.

The three of us met back in the grove, bones scattered about the clearing, more monsters coming from the ironically soothing pool.

"Stalfos!" Saria exclaimed. "But—What—How!"

"Kofuzen found us through the spring," the Deku Tree sputtered.

Our conversation paused as we fought off a wave of Stalfos, which now had basic weapons and armor. It was difficult; I mean, how are you supposed to kill a skeleton? They do it in movies all the time… sort of, but this was different. This was real.

I barely stayed standing. As if I wasn't inexperienced enough, I had to kill an un-killable enemy. Out of the corners of my eyes, I saw Link had similar problems. Saria and the Deku Tree were using some sort of insane Forest magic. Cheaters.

Finally, the pool was calm again, and the Deku Tree continued, "We can't endanger the Kokiri. Jake, Link, it is time you left the Wood. Saria, I didn't want to do this, but you need to take the Guardian Soul and travel with them. We need to protect the Soul, but the Kokiri would fall easily to him, and we cannot lose the Forest. I will fend off his minions until then."

We all nodded in understanding, dashing away to gather a few more things before our final departure.

I automatically ran the short distance back to my tree house, scrambling up the ladder, ignoring the several times that I scratched my knees on the rough bark. I frenetically thought of what to grab: I had my sword; we could hunt for food… My eyes fell on my obsidian armor, hanging on the wall. I had completely forgotten about it. The sunlight glared off the onyx metal, and for the first time I saw a golden dragon emblazoned on the breastplate. It was strange to time to be noticing more details, but it was like the adrenaline engraved every miniscule detail into my brain.

I had no time to put it on, so I grabbed a blanket off the bed and used it to create a make-shift bag. Scanning the room one last time, I slipped back down the ladder. I ran to the exit of the small village, ignoring the inquisitive looks of the Kokiri. Link and Saria were already waiting on the bridge that separated the town from the rest of the Wood.

"All right we're all here," Link said, struggling to keep his voice steady, "Let's go."

"Wait!" We all turned to see a fairy zooming closer to us. "Link, Saria, Jake! I want to go with you!"

"Hotaru, does the Great--" Saria began.

"No, but I want to help! We've been through too much for us separate now!"

After a small pause, I said, "Come on then."

"Really? Yay!" She did one her signature dances in the air before becoming solemn. We turned away from the town, tears in our eyes.

"Will we… ever return?" Link asked, voicing what all of us had been thinking.

"We must," Hotaru exclaimed, "This has become a home to each of us; this is what we fight for!"

"You're right, Hotaru," I said, "I promise that we will come back."

"Let's go," Saria interjected, "I'm not sure my heart can take it anymore."

We glanced at each other again, looking for a reason to stay. But of course, there was none. We took a step forward, almost simultaneously, leaving the Kokiri behind us. We took another step, and another, and another, until we were running, running away from our home, to escape the hurt ripping through our bodies. I felt warm water sliding my face, my throat was burning. I heard Saria sob and Link gasp for breath, and we kept going, Hotaru lighting the way, until we were swallowed by the black depths of the Lost Woods.

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All right, well that's all for now. Good news is that football season is over (I know it's been over since October, but shut up!), so I don't have marching band, and I got a study hall this semester, so I've got tons and tons of time on my hands. I will (try) not to take another five months to write the next chapter. Thanks for being so patient with me!


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